UK’s second longest-running comedy festival returns to the second city.
Running from Friday 4th-Sunday 13th October, the award-winning annual arts festival welcomes over 150 acts, including Sarah Millican (13th October, Symphony Hall), The Mash Report’s Rachel Parris (10th October, Town Hall), and Maisie Adam (8th October, Town Hall).
Joining them are Milton Jones (6th October, Town Hall); Jason Byrne (11th October, Town Hall); ‘Instagram dad’ George Lewis (13th October, The Glee Club); Hollyoaks and EastEnders actor, Richard Blackwood (13th October, The Glee Club) – marking 30 years in comedy with pal Slim; the delightful Laura Lexx (10th October, Old Joint Stock); South African comedian Schalk Bezuidenhout (6th October, The Glee Club); and Frank Skinner’s radio co-host Pierre Novellie (9th October, The Glee Club).
With an eye on comedy’s rich history, there’s also a triple-bill of Laurel and Hardy films (11th October, West Midlands Police Museum), while play Howerd’s End (3rd-5th October, Old Joint Stock) explores the troubled life of comedian Frankie Howerd, and Hancock’s Half Hour: The Lost TV Episodes (4th October, The Crescent Theatre) recreates three long lost episodes from the 1950s BBC sitcom.
As always, the region’s vibrant comedy scene is well represented with appearances from Jo Enright (7th October, Hockley Social), Black Country star Jonny Cole (10th October, Sutton Coldfield Town Hall), and Shazia Mirza (11th October, Birmingham Hippodrome), plus Richard Dadd, Rachel Baker, Damon Conlan, Hasan Al-Habib (winner of the festival’s Breaking Talent Award 2024), Joe Bingham, Sachin Kumarendran and Harry Jenkins. Meanwhile, the prestigious Birmingham Comedy Festival Breaking Talent Award 2024 (10th October, The Glee Club) continues to celebrate the next wave of West Mids’ comedy talent.
The always popular Birmingham Comedy Festival Free Half-Dayers (6th October and 13th October, The Victoria & Cherry Reds) also return. With back-to-back shows at two venues on John Bright Street, acts lined up include Channel 4 Sean Lock Comedy Award winner Eric Rushton, A&E doctor/comedian Kwame Asante, James Cook (with his cult Edinburgh Fringe hit Board Game Smackdown), Breaking Talent 2022 winner Hannah Weetman, and Funny Women Award finalist Tal Davies.
Elsewhere, The Comedy Junction Big Improv Night (6th October) promises games and on-the-spot larks, with more improvised comedy courtesy of the topical Behind The Headlines, TV-themed Next Time On, Box Of Frogs, and Jumprov! appearing across the 10-day festival.
Supported by The Arcadian with What’s On Magazine (Media Partner), Birmingham Comedy Festival takes place at over 20 venues across the city from Friday 4th-Sunday 13th October 2024. For more information, including tickets, see bhamcomfest.co.uk.