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Details announced for Birmingham Comedy Festival 2023
Via Dave 448Creative for Birmingham Comedy Festival
Birmingham Comedy Festival returns this October for ten days of performances, across central and south Birmingham.
This award-winning festival runs from Friday 6th to Sunday 15th October 2023, featuring gigs from Tom Davis (6th October at B:Music Birmingham Town Hall), Jason Byrne (8th October at B:Music Birmingham Town Hall) and Jenny Eclair (14th October at The Old Rep).
Other highlights include former Red Dwarf actor/comedian Norman Lovett (11th October at The Irish Centre), Seann Walsh (5th to 6th October at The Old Rep), Robin Ince (7th October at The Mockingbird), Jamie Hutchinson (8th October at The Glee Club), and Paul Foot (13th October at The Glee Club).
Angelos Epithemiou, Eshaan Akbar, Carl Hutchinson, Rhys James, Jack Gleadow, Connor Burns, Jamie Hutchinson, Alfie Moore, and Aurie Styla also appear.
Theatre
Lauded playwright Tim Firth has not one but two productions in the festival: firstly, the acclaimed Calendar Girls The Musical (3rd to 7th October at The Alexandra), the hit musical based on a true story with music by Gary Barlow, and a cast that includes Marti Webb, Lyn Paul, Amy Robbins, Tanya Franks and Maureen Nolan; and secondly, the sharp-witted Sheila’s Island (11th to 14th October Old Joint Stock Theatre).
West Midlands
As always, comedians from the West Midlands feature prominently, with shows from Warwickshire rising star Josh Pugh (10th October at The Glee Club), Birmingham-based Leicester Mercury Comedian of The Year, Eric Rushton (7th October at The Glee Club), and Edinburgh Comedy Award nominated Rob Kemp (7th October at 1000 Trades), plus Richard Dadd, Danny Clives, Tal Davies, and Damon Conlan, as well as leading improvisation groups Jumprov!, Behind The Headlines, and Improv Wolves.
Returning regulars include the region’s biggest comedy prize, the Birmingham Comedy Festival Breaking Talent Award (6th October at The Glee Club), in which the best West Midlands acts compete for the title; two Free Half-Dayers across successive Sundays (8th and 15th October at Cherry Reds and The Victoria), with one hour shows from James Cook, Lindsey Santoro, Hannah Weetman, Tom Little and Mary Flanigan and others; and a triple-bill of Laurel and Hardy classics (13th October at West Midlands Police Museum and 15 October at Stourbridge Town Hall).
Continuing the classic comedy theme, the festival is also celebrating the centenary of the birth of Black Country born comedy writer Larry Stephens with a one-off performance of two of his scripts from radio cult The Goon Show (8 October at B:Music Symphony Hall) – the series which launched the careers of Spike Milligan, Peter Sellers and Harry Secombe in the 1950s.
Birmingham Comedy Festival runs from Friday 6 to Sunday 15 October 2023. For more details, see: bhamcomfest.co.uk
