List of Comedy Festivals
Here is a list of the main comedy festivals in the UK.
Ongoing Festivals
Udderbelly Festival
Running until Saturday 30th September
A tented venue set up near the Southbank Centre in London, running through much of Spring and Summer.
Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Running until Monday 28th August
Thousands - literally thousands - of comedians appear at this festival each year. Check out BCG's comprehensive coverage
Green Man
Running until Sunday 20th August
This festival takes place in the Brecon Beacons in Wales. It's popular with comedians and so a number appear at the festival each year.
The Camden Fringe
Running until Sunday 27th August
Running for a month in North London, this festival involves lots of comedians playing across 25 different venues.
August
V Festival
Saturday 19th August to Sunday 20th August
Runs in Chelmsford in Essex, and Weston Park in Staffordshire. Some of the country's top comedians headline this festival.
Cornwall Comedy Festival
Friday 25th August to Sunday 27th August
Also known as Stand Up In The Wylds. Located near Bude in North Cornwall. The line-up includes Bill Bailey and Katherine Ryan.
Reading & Leeds Festivals
Friday 25th August to Sunday 27th August
The biggest music and comedy acts appear together at the same festival.
Wilderness Festival
This year's festival has now finished
Based in Cornbury Park, Oxfordshire, this festival has booked some big name comedians in previous years.
September
End Of The Road
Thursday 31st August to Sunday 3rd September
This festival's 2017 line-up includes Joe Lycett, Cardinal Burns, Nish Kumar, David Trent and Desiree Burch.
Festival Number 6
Thursday 7th September to Sunday 10th September
A classy festival in Portmeirion, North Wales. See their website for line-up news.
Greenwich Comedy Festival
Wednesday 13th September to Sunday 17th September
One of London's biggest comedy festivals, with lots of well-known acts performing each year.
Cheltenham Comedy Festival
Monday 18th September to Saturday 23rd September
A bunch of comedy shows for Cheltenham in September.
Liverpool Comedy Festival
Friday 15th September to Sunday 1st October
Over 100 shows in 25 venues across Liverpool City Centre and Merseyside.
October
Henley Literary Festival
Monday 2nd October to Sunday 8th October
Comedians who have written a book often are booked to speak at this festival.
Leamington Spa Comedy Festival
Sunday 8th October to Saturday 14th October
The Leamington Spa Comedy Festival takes place in October.
Aberdeen Comedy Festival
Thursday 5th October to Sunday 15th October
Over 60 shows in a wide range of venues in the city centre, including some of Aberdeen's best loved bars, clubs and hotels.
Birmingham Comedy Festival
Friday 6th October to Sunday 15th October
Over 70 comedy performances across the city.
Colchester Comedy Festival
Friday 13th October to Sunday 22nd October
16 days of mirth and laughter programmed at venues all over Colchester.
Southport Comedy Festival
Thursday 5th October to Sunday 22nd October
Featuring top acts, a Children's Comedy Festival, a competition for new comedians, and more.
Halifax Comedy Festival
Friday 20th October to Saturday 28th October
Sara Pascoe, Richard Herring and Lee Nelson are amongst the acts performing at the 2017 festival.
Birmingham Improv Festival
Monday 23rd October to Sunday 29th October
Established in 2016, this is an annual week-long festival of improvisational comedy.
Gloucester Comedy Festival
Thursday 26th October to Sunday 29th October
The first Gloucester Comedy Festival took place in 2016. It returns in October 2017.
Women in Comedy Festival
Thursday 19th October to Sunday 29th October
A Manchester-based festival featuring female acts. In 2016, there were over 100 shows involved.
November
Nottingham Comedy Festival
Friday 3rd November to Saturday 11th November
The 9th Nottingham Comedy Festival is taking place between the 3rd to 11th November 2017 in many venues across the city. This is an open access festival so acts of all levels and types of comedy are welcome to apply.
Hull Comedy Festival
Thursday 2nd November to Wednesday 22nd November
Three weeks of fun across various venues in the centre of Hull.
December
UK Jewish Comedy Festival
Normally takes place in December
JW3's Jewish Comedy Festival, in West Hampstead (London), features a mix of performances, workshops and events.
January 2018
Slapstick Festival
Friday 26th January to Sunday 28th January 2018
The Young Ones and Victoria Wood were amongst the comedy celebrated at Bristol's 2017 festival. We look forward to the 2018 events.
Vault Festival
Wednesday 24th January to Sunday 18th March 2018
Running across several months early in the year, Vault Festival is described as "London's answer to Edinburgh's Fringe".
February 2018
Leicester Comedy Festival
Wednesday 7th February to Sunday 25th February 2018
One of the country's biggest comedy festivals. See their website for the latest news.
Shoreditch Improv Festival
This festival normally takes place in February
A small festival at The Water Poet in London's Shoreditch focused around improv groups.
March 2018
Glasgow International Comedy Festival
Thursday 8th March to Sunday 25th March 2018
Many top names perform in Glasgow in March. See the website for more information.
April 2018
April Fools Barnsley Comedy Fest
This festival normally takes place in April
As the name suggests, this festival takes place in April.
Bath Comedy Festival
This festival normally takes place in April
Bath Comedy Festival gets bigger each year.
Machynlleth Comedy Festival
This festival normally takes place in April
The 'secret festival' in Wales. A wide variety of acts perform over the bank holiday weekend.
That's Fife! Festival
This festival normally takes place in April
Fife festival will be four years old in 2018.
Udderbelly Festival
This festival normally takes place in April
A tented venue set up near the Southbank Centre in London, running through much of Spring and Summer.
May 2018
Bath Fringe
This festival normally takes place in May
People talking (usually one at a time) at a microphone. Often funny, often profound.
Brighton Fringe
Friday 4th May to Sunday 3rd June 2018
Lots of shows, many of them work-in-progress gigs.
Derby Comedy Festival
This festival normally takes place in May
The third Derby comedy festival will occur in 2018.
Hay Festival
Thursday 24th May to Tuesday 5th June 2018
Located in Wales, with mainly literary based events. Comedians often read their books there.
London Clown Festival
This festival normally takes place in May
Based around The Omnibus at Manor House, this festival explores what clown is to the modern performer and their audiences.
Wells Comedy Festival
Friday 25th May to Sunday 27th May 2018
Stewart Lee, Milton Jones, Joe Lycett, James Acaster, Bridget Christie and Sara Pascoe are amongst the comedians who have performed at this well-regarded Somerset-based festival.
June 2018
Bristol Comedy Garden
This festival normally takes place in June
Queen Square, in the heart of Bristol, is transformed into a comedy wonderland in June complete with legendary line-ups in the Big Top and Apple Top venues.
Croydon Comedy Festival
This festival normally takes place in June
The third annual Croydon Comedy Festival runs across the summer.
Glastonbury Festival
This festival normally takes place in June
Comedians can always be found at Glastonbury in the various comedy-related performance areas. The festival will be back in June 2019.
Ludlow Fringe Festival
This festival normally takes place in June
A bunch of comedy shows to enjoy in the Shropshire market town.
The Tringe
This festival normally takes place in June
A series of Edinburgh Festival preview shows performed in the Hertfordshire market town of Tring.
July 2018
ARG Com Fest
This festival normally takes place in July
The Actually Rather Good Comedy Festival (aka ARGComFest) hosts lots of preview shows each July in Shoreditch, ahead of the Edinburgh Fringe. It will return in 2018.
Balham Comedy Festival
This festival normally takes place in July
Based at The Bedford in Balham, this festival attracts a number of great names. 2017 was the festival's sixth year.
Balham Free Fringe Festival
This festival normally takes place in July
A weekend of totally free comedy shows to support the PBH Free Fringe movement.
Barnes Fringe Festival
This festival normally takes place in July
Edinburgh may be some 415 miles from Barnes, but for one week only in July, you can catch many of the acts appearing at the world-famous Festival in a series of exclusive previews taking place at the OSO Arts Centre and the Olympic Cinema.
Buxton Festival Fringe
This festival normally takes place in July
One of the largest open-access arts festivals in the country.
Cambridge Comedy Festival
This festival normally takes place in July
A festival in Cambridge, which has been running for 11 years.
Camp Bestival
Thursday 26th July to Sunday 29th July 2018
Based around Lulworth Castle in Dorset, this festival normally books a couple of big headline comedy acts.
Cornbury Festival
This festival normally takes place in July
This Oxfordshire festival features stand-up alongside various musical performances.
Darlington Comedy Festival
This festival normally takes place in July
Funny people come to Darlington in July.
Deer Shed Festival
This festival normally takes place in July
An annual festival at Baldersby Park, Topcliffe, North Yorkshire. The 2017 comedy line-up includes Patrick Monahan, The Noise Next Door and Jarred Christmas.
Ealing Comedy Festival
This festival normally takes place in July
The Ealing Comedy Festival takes place over several nights in July, in Walpole Park.
Greater Manchester Fringe
This festival normally takes place in July
The 6th Greater Manchester Fringe took place 1st - 31st July 2017.
Guildford Fringe Festival
This festival normally takes place in July
Lots of comedy shows take place in Guildford across July.
Henley Festival
This festival normally takes place in July
A 'posh' festival that attracts a number of top comedy headliners.
Kendal Calling
Thursday 26th July to Sunday 29th July 2018
A festival at Lowther Deer Park in The Lake District.
Larmer Tree Festival
Friday 20th July to Sunday 22nd July 2018
A festival in Cranborne Chase (straddling Dorset, Hampshire and Wiltshire). There will be no festival in 2017, but it is set to return in 2018.
Latitude
Thursday 12th July to Sunday 15th July 2018
Easily one of the best comedy line-ups in the country. This festival - featuring multiple areas for comedy - attracts both big name headliners and lesser known alternative acts.
Laugh Out London Comedy Festival
This festival normally takes place in July
A bunch of comedy shows based at The Old Queens Head in Angel.
Port Eliot Festival
This festival normally takes place in July
Based in St Germans, Cornwall, one of the venues features a number of comedy bookings.
Shrewsbury International Comedy Festival
This festival normally takes place in July
The inaugural Shrewsbury International Comedy Festival took place on Friday 21, Saturday 22 and Sunday 23rd July across four venues in Shrewsbury. Greg Davies hosted the Gala.
South Tyneside Comedy Festival
This festival normally takes place in July
The aim of this festival is to put incredible comics on, doing their festival shows, at affordable prices.
The Great Yorkshire Fringe
This festival normally takes place in July
A festival that takes place in the centre of York.
ZEAL: The Pride Improv Festival
This festival normally takes place in July
A week-long festival to celebrate Pride, ZEAL takes place from in early July in partnership with London's top improv organisations.