There may be showers in April but l can also guarantee there will be plenty of laughter in Bath.
With over 70 shows and featuring more than 250 performers, the city’s Comedy Festival is back again to keep folk roaring with laughter over three weeks this April.
Heats of the esteemed New Act Competition run throughout the Festival at Nowhere, culminating in the Grand Final at The Old Theatre Royal on Easter Monday. Core venues include Bath Forum, Upstairs @ Bath Pizza Co and the Ring O Bells, and for the first time in a number of years Bath’s prestigious Guildhall.
Regular venue partners Rondo Theatre and Komedia host some great shows; as always there are affordable ‘pay what you feel’ gigs, and there’s every genre of comedy on offer, plus film, art and family-friendly events.
The Festival wouldn’t be the same without the flagship bonkers bus tour The Wine Arts Trail (T.W.A.T.) – discovering new businesses and secret corners of Bath with a glass of wine and a ‘happening’ at each stop.
Other highlights include some old-school comedy from Bobby Davro and Basil Brush, household names and ‘Live At The Apollo’ stars such as Henning Wehn, Simon Evans, Dylan Moran, Jen Brister, Maisie Adam, Rich Hall and Hal Cruttenden, alongside Edinburgh Fringe and circuit legends Simon Munnery, Glenn Wool, Barbara Nice, Markus Birdman, Patrick Monahan and Marcel Lucont, as well as works in progress from many fast-rising stars such s Dan Tiernan, Hannah Byczkowski and Kuan-wen Huang.
This year’s Festival starts Bath Comedy’s year-round programme off with a bang, and will be followed by a mini-festival of Edinburgh (and beyond!) Previews in July, Bath Comedy Club shows and some exciting one-offs. Bookings are already being made for next year, with Paul Merton & Suki Webster already on sale for March 2026!
Festival Director Nick Steel says:
“This year’s Festival line-up is an impressive mixture of well-known comedy stalwarts and rising stars, but also a landmark in our aim to present more shows for families and younger audiences through our exciting ‘Junior Jokers’ programme, and a widening of our remit to include art, literature and film, more daytime events and workshops, as well as continuing our esteemed New Act Competition and regular favourites and unique events like The Wine Arts Trail.
Post-pandemic challenges have continued, but it is finally starting to feel as though confidence and forward-thinking is returning, encouraging new partnerships and collaborations, both between arts organisations and with businesses. To this end we continue to devise more ways to work together on mutually beneficial ideas, to ensure Bath Comedy Festival’s future and to keep bringing laughter to Bath.
We’re extremely grateful to our current supporters, venues and partners, and I’m looking forward to welcoming new Sponsors and Business Partners – why not get in touch and see how being aligned with the Festival can help you, your company and your employees?
Individuals can join the Friends Of The Festival scheme to be a part of our exciting journey, gain tangible benefits and help sustain the Festival’s continuing evolution and development.
Bath Comedy Festival is widely recognised as a destination for comedy and a key date in the city’s annual cultural calendar. We can’t do it without you, so join us as we welcome both Bath residents and visitors…and have a laugh!”
For more information please see: www.BathComedy.com or check out the What’s on pages, which are correct at the time of going to press.
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