Peter Searles stars in his one man show, Hey Gringo, running July 14-31 at the Culy Theatre in San Diego.

The show comprises two tales of Searles' travels through South America. The first is subtitled "Through Peru," and the second is subtitled "Bolivia and Beyond." The two will run on alternate nights and are one hour each. The show is directed by London comedian Stephen Frost.

Searles explained, "It all started when I met Stephen in the bar and told him the Amazon story, and he convinced me to stage my tales." The first performance was in front of six friends, Upstairs at the East Dulwich Tavern. Since then, the show has had two successful tours at the Edinburgh Festival.

The show mixes stand-up comedy and theatre. The first story tells of Searles meeting with monks, airline hostesses, crocodiles, and centipedes, to name a few. In the sequel, he goes on a search for a mystery cave rumored to hold "the last of the cosmic secrets." He travels through bars, prisons and the jungle.

Director Frost was quoted as saying, "The beauty of the pieces is that it's like those same wonderful stories that your mates would tell down [at] the pub, but Peter has just added some theatrical effect." Shows start at 8 PM; tickets are $12. For more details, call the box office at (619) 338-0526. The Culy Theatre is at 344 Seventh Ave, San Diego. -- by Daniel Fischer