RAY Bradshaw's Deaf Comedy Fam show is a first for stand-up comedy, as York and Whitby audiences will discover on his national tour.

Bradshaw, a two-time Scottish Comedian of the Year finalist, tells stories in his first language, British Sign Language, as well as in English, having grown up with deaf parents.

Those circumstances have given him a fund of eye-opening tales, including the time he learned that Father Christmas was not deaf, and this is coupled with his desire to make the world of comedy more accessible for deaf people – one in six people suffers from hearing loss – if only to take the pressure off himself when it comes to making his parents laugh.

Promoted by the Gilded Balloon, Bradshaw's four-month tour visits the Burning Duck Comedy Club in York on October 20, preceded by the Whitby Coliseum on September 14. York tickets are on sale at wegottickets.com; Whitby at hilaritybites.co.uk and on 07747 803060.