A former Red Dragon Radio presenter is returning to Cardiff this weekend.
Broadcaster and comedian James Barr, who currently co-hosts Hits Radio Breakfast alongside Fleur East and Will Best, previously hosted the evening show on Red Dragon FM across South Wales.
Cardiff holds some very happy memories for James, who says he’s excited to be back but with a very different story to tell in a very personal show which is at Wales Millennium Centre on October 18.
Sorry I Hurt Your Son (Said My Ex To My Mum) is his stand-up show about surviving domestic abuse in a same-sex relationship. With the tagline: ‘Domestic abuse isn’t funny, but this show is’, it’s received five-star reviews and three Edinburgh comedy award nominations.
“When I was in the relationship, I struggled to recognise what was happening,” said James. “I made the show to explore something that can be difficult to explain: you can love someone who hurts you. Using comedy has opened up conversations with survivors who’ve told me they recognise their own experiences in it.
One of the most talked-about comedy shows at the Edinburgh Fringe, Sorry I Hurt Your Son (Said My Ex To My Mum) has earned over 10 five-star reviews, three major award nominations and a place among the Best Reviewed Shows of the fringe.
The show maps the emotional steps he went through in a four-year relationship – from minimising and denial to recognition and escape.
Using comedy, he exposes the emotional logic that kept him there. The result is a show that tackles domestic abuse and emotional cruelty without ever feeling overwhelming or despairing, landing as both a poignant and life-affirming hour of stand-up comedy.
By speaking out about his experiences, James says he wants to give a voice to the one in five adults who experience domestic abuse in the UK in their lifetimes. This statistic is even higher for LGBTQ+ people, with reported domestic abuse rates one-third higher for Lesbian and Gay Individuals: 6% in the last year, compared to 4.5% for heterosexuals (Office for National Statistics 2025).
“Men don’t often speak about abuse, and gay men speak about it even less,” said James. “Comedy gave me a way to burst my own shame bubble. I’ve found my voice again. To anyone still carrying someone else’s shame: it was never yours. Give it back.”
Book tickets and find out more via: https://www.wmc.org.uk/en/whats-on/2026/james-barr
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