In Lithuanian slang, a lazybones is “a director of free air.” In Norwegian, “a flaccid fish.” And in Danish… “a sluggish banana.”

In Welsh, it doesn’t rain cats and dogs… it rains old ladies and sticks. In Estonian, it rains little boys and machetes. And in Uruguayan slang: “it’s raining penguins headfirst.”

An Idiom Abroad is a one-hour show (part reading, part monologue, part stand-up) that takes audiences on a journey through Adam Sharp’s most popular lists of international idioms, proverbs, and gloriously untranslatable expressions, with asides, anecdotes, and audience participation woven throughout.

The show is built for conference after-dinner slots, literary festivals, and corporate events where the audience wants to leave having laughed, thought, and learned something they’ll be repeating for weeks. It’s accessible to any audience, requires no specialist knowledge, and travels light (Adam needs only a microphone and a room full of people willing to argue about biscuits).

What audiences say

Such a fun and entertaining event — the audience were absolutely buzzing on the way out!

— York Festival of Ideas

A rapid-fire gigglefest.

— Bath Book Festival

Quite different from any other show we have featured in the festival.

— Off the Shelf Festival, Sheffield

Adam has that rare ability to make you laugh and think at the same time, and he delivers his ideas with a gentle humility that compels people to listen. We'd be delighted to welcome him back any time.

— Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading, Annual Conference 2024

About Adam

Adam Sharp is the author of The Correct Order of Biscuits and The Wheel Is Spinning But the Hamster Is Dead (both Hachette). He writes a regular column on international idioms for the Swiss daily Neue Zürcher Zeitung and has contributed to The Observer and The New European. He has performed at literary festivals across the UK and internationally, and brings to the show a background in public performance (including several years touring the world as a stilt walker).

An Idiom Abroad is available for literary festivals, corporate conferences and away days, university events, and private functions.

To enquire about booking: adamcsharp at gmail dot com