Victoria Wood, Barry Cryer, The Goodies, Ian Lavender, June Whitfield and Marcus Brigstocke are among the stars who will be in Bristol from Thursday 24th to Sunday 27th January 2013 to take part in the city's annual salute to silent and vintage comedy.

The Slapstick Festival 2013, a not-for-profit venture run mainly by volunteers, will be the ninth annual celebration of slapstick that the city has hosted. In the first year, 2005, fewer than 1,000 people attended. Today Slapstick is the biggest event of its kind in Britain, indeed one of the best-rated comedy film festivals in the world, attracting more than 4,000 visitors.

Festival director Chris Daniels says: "As ever, the 2013 programme provides a chance to meet some of today's top comedy performers and find out which past professionals they most admire or have found inspiring. We're really thrilled by our latest guest list. It reads like a 'Who's Who' of comedy talent. We're equally delighted by the breadth of styles and eras covered by the Slapstick 2013 programme. There's a source of laugh-out-loud enjoyment here for absolutely everyone - just the job to brighten the dark days of winter!"

Event tickets are on sale now via www.slapstick.org.uk or the host venues (Arnolfini, Bristol Old Vic, Colston Hall and Watershed). Additionally, Colston Hall is selling a Festival Pass, granting admission to all the shows, including the big gala.

The shows at this year's festival are:

Slapstick Animation! (Thursday 24th)

Whatever happened to purely visual comedy in film and TV? Wallace & Gromit (pictured) creator Nick Park and Peter Lord of Aardman Animations reckon they know where it went - into the world of animation. Here they'll be talking about the influences on their Oscar-winning work and sharing many moments of slapstick fun from the Aardman back catalogue and beyond.

Film: Funny Ladies #1: The Girl With The Hatbox (Friday 25th)

The first of Slapstick's Funny Ladies events, paying tribute to female silent stars, offers a rare chance to see a delightful and enduring comedy from Russia in which Anna Sten - later a Hollywood star - shines as a sparky hat-maker, fending off an amorous railway official and other troubles involving a vacant flat a homeless student and a lottery ticket. This screening will be introduced by film historian David Robinson and have a live piano accompaniment.

Harold Lloyd: The Third Genius (Friday 25th)

Kevin Brownlow returns to Slapstick to follow-up on his previous tributes to Keaton and Chaplin with a look at the enthralling life and silent comedy genius of Harold Lloyd. This talk will be illustrated by Kevin's filmed interviews with people who worked alongside Lloyd at the Hal Roach studio, including Roach himself, and a screening of the Lloyd short, Giving Them Fits (1915), accompanied live on piano by Stephen Horne.

Instant Wit - Improv Comedy (Friday 25th)

Join Bristol's very own and highly-acclaimed improvisation company as it blends slapstick and instantly invented comic jolly-japery to serve up a perfect hors d'ouevre to Slapstick's main course, the annual Gala taking place in the same location at 7.30pm. Featuring Stan Laurel lookalikey Nik Howden, Howard 'Oliver Hardy' Coggins plus Chris Grimes and Stephanie Weston and with musical accompaniment from Colin Smith.

Silent Comedy Gala (Friday 25th)

Victoria Wood introduces a slapstick comedy spectacular, featuring classic films starring Harold Lloyd and Buster Keaton and accompanied live by the Bristol Ensemble and European Silent Screen Virtuosi, playing newly-composed scores; songs and banter from comedy legend Barry Cryer and the UK premiere of a newly discovered and restored colour version of A Trip to the Moon by French film pioneer, Georges Meliés, narrated by Paul McGann.

Before the gala, degree course students from the Bristol-based circus-theatre school Circomedia will performing slapstick-inspired routines in Colston Hall's three-storey foyer (7pm start). This fun pre-event is free and open to all, regardless of whether watchers have tickets for the Gala or not.

Lost Clowns: Walter Forde in Wait And See, 1928 (Saturday 26th)

The name may be new but Walter Forde was Britain's top silent comedian in the 1920s - signed to make a series of comedy features, a film 'first' for Britain. Wait And See (1928), which he also directed, shows him at his best and includes an especially fine and funny 'chase' finale. This screening will be introduced by the eminent film historian and researcher David Wyatt.

Funny Ladies #2: Colleen Moore in Orchids and Ermine, 1927 (Saturday 26th)

Slapstick 2013's 'Funny Ladies' salute continues by showing why Colleen Moore was so beloved by silent era cinema-goers that her bobbed hairstyle became part of the decade's 'look'. Here, she plays a New York flapper hoping to land a rich boyfriend but falling instead for a man who seems down on his luck. Watch out also for cameos by a young Mickey Rooney and the infamous Hollywood gossip columnist Hedda Hooper. With an introduction by film historian and documentary-maker Kevin Brownlow and a live piano accompaniment by John Sweeney.

Lost Goodies (Saturday 26th)

From 1970 to 1982, the visually-inventive comedy shows and specials created by the madcap trio known as The Goodies were among the most popular on television. Now Slapstick is reuniting the team - Tim Brooke-Taylor, Graeme Garden and Bill Oddie for a look-back at rarely-seen gems from their multiple award-winning output. With Chris Serle in the chair and closing with an audience Q&A session. This event has already sold out.

Funny Ladies #3: Marion Davies in The Patsy, 1928 (Saturday 26th)

If Marion Davies's name is familiar, it's probably as the long-time mistress of the newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst, often said to have inspired Orson Welles' Citizen Kane. But as this Jazz Age Cinderella story, directed by the great King Vidor, shows she was also a fine comedy actress with a clever flair for impersonating other stars of the day. Co-stars include Marie Dressler, making a magnificent comeback as a severe matriarch. A genuine gem! And, for added pleasure, Stephen Horne accompanies on piano, keyboard, accordion and flute.

Buster Keaton in College, 1927 (Saturday 26th)

Dad's Army star Ian Lavender (aka Pike) returns to Slapstick to introduce a hilarious send-up of university life starring and directed by his personal silent comedy favourite, Buster Keaton. College finds Keaton exploiting his athletic daring to the full plus some of his finest ever 'sight gags'. The bill will also feature a short chosen by Ian and live accompaniment by the European Silent Screen Virtuosi.

Bill Oddie's Laurel & Hardy Classics (Sunday 27th)

Join star of The Goodies Bill Oddie as he takes us back to the days when every kid loved nothing better than to spend a weekend morning at the pictures laughing their socks off. Here, the laughter will be courtesy of Bill and a choice of his all-time favourite Laurel and Hardy 'talkies'. Pure joy for all ages.

I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue - The Best of 40 Years (Sunday 27th)

Just what are the rules of Mornington Crescent? And who is the lovely Samantha? Join Barry Cryer, Tim Brooke-Taylor, Graeme Garden and Colin Sell at the piano - the team from the self-styled antidote to panel games - as they mark the publication of their new book celebrating 40 years of being given silly things to do, and delighting fans all across the world. This event has sadly already sold out.

Marcus Brigstocke's Top Comedy Moments (Sunday 27th)

Writer, comedian and Bristol Uni graduate Marcus Brigstocke takes to the Bristol Old Vic stage to share his favourite visual comedy clips and talk about the moments and people who have influenced his work and helped to make him one of our sharpest and most popular comedy talents.

June Whitfield: Comedy Legend (Sunday 27th)

Comedy actor and national treasure June Whitfield makes her Slapstick debut, to recall highlights from a career that has spanned six decades and brought her close to many of comedy's most famous names. Helping her to pick out her best stories will be broadcaster and writer Matthew Sweet, aided by many radio, film and TV classicsincluding Tony Hancock's The Blood Donor, top BBC sitcom Terry & June alongside Terry Scott, and Jennifer Saunders' Absolutely Fabulous. During the show, June Whitfield will also become the worthy first recipient of Slapstick's brand new 'Comedy Legend Award'. The award, a customised Golden Morph, has been made especially by Aardman's model-makers.

Funny Ladies #4: Festival Finale (Sunday 27th)

To round-off Slapstick 2013 and conclude the festival's celebration of Funny Ladies - a laugh-out-loud double bill of films with female stars, introduced by one of today's most successful women stand-ups: Mock The Week regular Lucy Porter. The films she will introduce in her deliciously well-observed style are King Vidor's Hollywood-based Show People (1928), starring Marion Davies, and with cameos by many of film's earliest celebrities, including Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks and Elinor Glyn, and A Pair of Tights (1929) in which Hal Roach first paired Anita Garvin and Marion Byron as female counterparts to his existing great duo - Laurel & Hardy. The films will be accompanied by music from The European Silent Screen Virtuosi.

To find out more about the festival visit www.slapstick.org.uk