THERE has to be Something Better, hopes comedy turn Josie Long, as she sets out on her eighth solo stand-up tour.

"This is a show about optimism and hopefulness and about looking for people and things to look up to," says the 34-year-old Sidcup humorist, who plays Hull on Monday, Leeds on Tuesday and York on Wednesday

"By now I thought I would have children, and be in love, and have a country that didn’t vote with the far right parties to march us all off a cliff. And that I would be able to do all the awesome stuff that activists do. I thought we would have won by now. Oh, and I wanted to be taller and better looking."

Something Better contemplates wanting more from life than it might be up for giving out. "It’s about struggling with realising what you are, who you are and what you can’t change about yourself, and about really feeling like an outsider for the first time," says Josie. "It’s a bit about having faith in younger people, and friendship, and activism, and solidarity.

"I've been busy interviewing activists about what they do and why, so it's also about politics and making things happen. And there's probably a bit where I pretend to be a push-button shower, so it should be silly and fun too, with a few exciting bits in it."

On the morning that Josie spoke to The Press, she could have wished for the day to have turned out better. "I had to do a photoshoot for a magazine in the snow and it wasn't settling, which is the worst of both worlds!" she says, on the phone from West Norwood, London.

There are bigger issues troubling Josie, of course. "I think that's basically why I've called the show Something Better as I really want something better for all of us as what's happening is such a concern and such a shame," she says. "I set out to write something else for this tour, but then Brexit derailed it, so I thought I should write about seeking something better."

York Press:

Long suffering? Josie hopes for Something Better

Such as? "Any action you can take that is humane and useful, no matter how small, is worth doing. Like with the NHS, and the refugee crisis, how will history judge us?" says Josie. "Sometimes it's really difficult to remember this is a comedy show, but I assure you everything in the show has a joke in it."

Nevertheless, she was in the mood to make serious points. "What it means to have the 'white privilege' is that you can ask how you can be useful, how you can help in some way, as we have a duty to show solidarity with anyone facing hostility or racism," says Josie.

Josie's search for Something Better is not intended to be divisive. "With this show, I don't want to be rude to people but to win them round, so I want to be partisan rather than confrontational," she says.

"I genuinely think the purpose of my show changes from place to place, when the audience demographic differs, depending on the way they voted in the referendum. Sometimes, I'm preaching to those who want reminding they're not alone, no matter often we might lose, in this present political climate, but at the same time audiences are teaching me how to think about political issues at the moment.

"I'll start with a loose chat with the crowd, saying that I won't be confrontational and I'll be very self-deprecating: I'll say how my side, Remain, wasn't successful and I'm in despair about that and I wish I could change it."

Reflecting on Brexit, Josie concludes: "It was a working-class protest vote rather than a working-class victory and I think the vote would be different now."

Josie Long's Something Better tour visits Fruit Space, Hull, on Monday, The Wardrobe, Leeds, on Tuesday and The Crescent Community Centre, The Crescent, York, on Wednesday, all at 7.30pm. Box office: Hull, 01482 221113 or fruitspace.co.uk; Leeds, 0113 383 8800 or thewardrobe.co.uk; York, ticketweb.co.uk or seetickets.com