British Comedy Guide

Bournemouth Comedy Festival to launch in October

Friday 11th August 2023, 11:25am by Jake Godfrey

Bournemouth Comedy Festival

Bournemouth will play host to a five-day comedy festival in October.

Comic Adrienne Coles has been curating Coastal Comedy nights around the Dorset area for some years, and now she is overseeing the first Bournemouth Comedy Festival.

The five day festival will run from 4th to 8th October 2023, with matinee performances for children and families as well as the evening shows.

The festival has been developed in conjunction with Bournemouth BID, a not-for-profit company which provides funding for various projects throughout the town, and has received additional funding from BCP Council as part of a government post-covid recovery grant. The result is all tickets are priced at just £8 for the evening shows, whilst kids go free with a paying adult (£2) at the family shows.

Susie O'Neill, business liaison officer for Bournemouth Town Centre BID, says: "We wanted to do something different. Times and town centres are changing, and we all need a laugh! What's brilliant is that because of the funding we've got, we're able to sell tickets for just £8. The line-ups on each night are all headliners in their own right, so it's creating quite a buzz. We hope this will be the first of a regular comedy festival for Bournemouth. Looking to next year, we hope to get more venues involved and a longer festival".

On 4th October there will be an invitation only event in which comedian Mike Gunn will train five Bournemouth business workers in stand-up before a short performance. Public shows will then follow, with other activities set to be announced closer to the time.

The show line-up is as follows:

5th October

The Brass Haus, 7pm

Zoe Lyons
Andy Askins
Joe Wells

6th October

Revolution, 7pm

Troy Hawke
Paul Tonkinson
Jake Lambert

Saturday 7th October

Odeon BH2 Cinema, 11am (children's show)

Shelf
Joe Wells
Ben Van der Velde

Odeon BH2 Cinema, 1pm (children's show)

Howard Read
Will Duggan
Ben Van der Velde

Camel Bar, 7pm

Tom Ward
Nathan Caton
Mike Cox

Sunday 8th October

Post Bar, noon (children's show)

Bec Hill
Katie Pritchard
Ben Van der Velde


You can find out more details about the Bournemouth Comedy Festival via coastalcomedy.com

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