ANDY Parsons is resolutely optimistic in the face of our uncertain future - and has been for more than three years.

He recalled: “It was June 24, 2016, and I found myself contemplating a supermarket meal deal.

“I only wanted a sandwich and I only needed a sandwich, but given that I could get a snack and a drink for only 5p more it seemed financially irresponsible not to.

“I had spend so long pondering the EU Referendum result from the day before that I was now in a massive rush.

“The lad on the till scanned the first two items no problem, but the third item he couldn’t get to scan at all. I thought, ‘This is going to be a nightmare.’ There was a queue building up and he looked like he was going to call a supervisor.

“Then, to his credit, he tried to scan it one more time. It wouldn’t scan, so he went ‘bip’ himself and chucked it through.

“And it was at that moment that I thought, ‘Oh, we’ll be alright as a country, we will.’

“And we will be alright. Trust me. I’m not a politician.”

On Friday, November 1, the former Mock the Week star brings his current tour, Healing the Nation, to the Wyvern Theatre.

In addition to Mock the Week, Andy has appeared on many other TV and radio programmes and wrote for savage and groundbreaking satirical puppet show Spitting Image.

He said: “I think we’re a nation desperate to be healed, in the sense that people would rather come together than diverge.

“In the current media analysis, everyone is in the centre of their own social media bubble, and everything is kicking off left, right and centre.

“So the idea for the tour was that rather than being incredibly one-sided and partisan and throwing stuff at the opposition, it’s nice to see both sides of the argument.

“I’ll be taking on viewpoints that wouldn’t normally find a natural home in one of my stand-up sets, and try to genuinely see the other side of that argument.”

Although the Brexit debate is perhaps the most divisive of modern times, Andy is convinced that there are always more issues which unify than divide.

“The idea in the show is that everything is proving divisive at the moment, and that no-one is talking to each other or seeing issues from both sides.

“Essentially, people have the same concerns, whether it’s health or education or jobs, and I want to narrow down the focus of what people do want and bring them together.

“The blurb of the show says that, if nothing else, we can be proud of some form of tolerance and freedom of speech throughout our history.

“It’’ll be interesting to see where those concepts are going in the next few years.

“On my Twitter feed currently it says, ‘Initially upbeat. Often disappointed.’

“The general thrust of everything I’ve ever done has an optimistic note to it, and there is always something in the glass rather than there being something missing from it.”

With the political situation changing, he faces the challenge of updating his material constantly.

“When your show is topical then inevitably it will be very different when the tour finishes from where it started.

“This is mainly because of current events but it’s also good to keep it fresh anyway, not just for the audience but for myself.

“If you’re performing over 100 shows and just doing the same set every single night then it becomes a job rather than a pleasure.”

Tickets for Andy’s November 1 Wyvern show, which starts at 8pm, cost £19.

The box office can be contacted via swindontheatres.co.uk and on 01793 524481.