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Friday 26th February 2021

Somehow another two weeks have already passed, so we're back in your inbox with a fresh selection of comedies to tickle your funny bone, including a number of all-new announcements.

If you're in the mood for something a little different, there are various offers currently available, including 2-for-£13 on a wide range of Blu-rays from HMV; a 40% sale at Network; and 2-for-£20 on 4K Blu-rays from Zavvi.

Coming soon

Restless Natives

Restless Natives

Pre-order. Blu-ray, DVD, Download

Starring Vincent Friell and Joe Mullaney, this much-loved Scottish comedy film from 1985 has been newly restored and makes its debut on Blu-ray on Monday: it's a very enjoyable comic romp through the deprivation, temptations and seedy city life of the mid 80s, mixing crime, comedy and romance.

Also including a new documentary with cast and crew, the film finds friends Ronnie and Will, under-employed and living in Edinburgh. Bored and tempted by the untapped wealth of the international tourists that swarm through the city, they hatch a wildly irresponsible plan to achieve wealth and notoriety. Donning wolf and clown masks and armed with a puffer gun loaded with homemade mace they politely hold up coachloads of tourists travelling through the Highlands for a bit of cash.

The duo soon become a hit with the tourists and the public alike, following in the great tradition of fellow folk heroes Robin Hood and Rob Roy, but whilst Ronnie, the meeker of the two, falls in with a group of hardened criminals, Will falls for one of their targets and begins to think about his own non-criminal future.

Peter Pan Goes Wrong

Peter Pan Goes Wrong

Pre-order. DVD

The Olivier Award-winning Mischief Theatre brings Peter Pan Goes Wrong to BBC One. As part of a commitment to community theatre, The Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society, an amateur dramatics group, has been commissioned to recreate the JM Barrie classic as part of the festive season programming. But can they pull it off? Narrated by David Suchet and filmed in front of a live audience, watch as Peter Pan flies through the air, Captain Hook and his pirates set adrift in the lagoon, and Tinkerbell is due to light up the stage in a stunning electrical costume... what can possibly go wrong?! With their trademark comic mayhem, expect hilarious stunts, chaos, technical hitches, flying mishaps and cast disputes on the way to Neverland with hilarious and disastrous results.

Follow-up special A Christmas Carol Goes Wrong is also available to pre-order.

Billy Connolly - Windswept & Interesting: My Autobiography

Billy Connolly - Windswept & Interesting: My Autobiography

Pre-order. eBook, Hardback

In his first full-length autobiography, comedy legend and national treasure Billy Connolly reveals the truth behind his "windswept and interesting" life.

Windswept & Interesting is Billy's story in his own words. It is joyfully funny - stuffed full of hard-earned wisdom as well as countless digressions on fishing, farting and the joys of dancing naked. It is an unforgettable, life-affirming story of a true comedy legend.

Paul Tonkinson - 26.2 Miles To Happiness: A Comedian's Tale Of Running, Red Wine And Redemption

Paul Tonkinson - 26.2 Miles To Happiness: A Comedian's Tale Of Running, Red Wine And Redemption

Pre-order. Paperback

Paul Tonkinson writes about his attempts to beat the much lauded 3-hour mark at the London Marathon. With a supporting cast of fellow comedians, this book is described as a "warmly written and wonderfully honest adventure-through-sport that will both entertain and inspire".

The story of his alpine adventure to the Mayr Clinic with Michael McIntyre that pushes Paul to the limit is worth hearing.

The Ladykillers

The Ladykillers

Pre-order. 4K Blu-ray

If you missed out on November's deluxe Collector's Edition release, the classic, internationally acclaimed Ealing Studios comedy feature - starring Peter Sellers, Frankie Howerd, Sir Alec Guinness, Herbert Lom and others - is coming out next month in a regular 4K (UHD) Blu-ray.

Promising the same, stunningly restored and remastered version of the 1955 colour film (and heap of special features) as we saw a few months ago but this time without all the deluxe-packaged extras, this comes in a standard Blu-ray case and offers a cheaper way to experience this iconic film as it's never quite been seen before.

The Lady Is A Square

The Lady Is A Square

Pre-order. Blu-ray, DVD

Anna Neagle, Frankie Vaughan and Janette Scott star alongside Anthony Newley and Wilfrid Hyde White in this swinging musical from the late 1950s, newly restored in high definition from original film elements. "Mr Showbusiness" sings four top tunes in what was to be the swansong for both Neagle and her long-time creative partner and husband, director Herbert Wilcox.

Widowed socialite Frances Baring encounters financial problems that put her late husband's classical orchestra in peril. Can a chance encounter with an aspiring young singer overcome her prejudice against pop and save the day?

Paintball Massacre

Paintball Massacre

Pre-order. DVD

A group of old school friends go on a paintball trip, miles away from civilisation. But things go horribly wrong when they discover a cold-blooded masked killer is among them. Soon the paint is mixed with blood as they fight to survive their school reunion. Will anyone survive?

Paintball Massacre is a new comedy horror film, starring Lee Latchford-Evans from Steps and comedian Katy Brand, providing suspense, gore and a few laughs along the way.

Roald & Beatrix: The Tale Of The Curious Mouse

Roald & Beatrix: The Tale Of The Curious Mouse

Pre-order. Blu-ray, DVD

Roald & Beatrix: The Tale Of The Curious Mouse introduces Harry Tayler as a lonely young Roald Dahl, who sets off on a big adventure to meet his favourite author - Beatrix Potter (Dawn French).

Broadcast at Christmas, this acclaimed heart-warming comedy drama tells the story of their real-life meeting and how it inspired a grown-up Dahl to write magical children's books of his own.

Co-starring Rob Brydon, Alison Steadman, Bill Bailey, Nick Mohammed and Jessica Hynes, it's out in a few weeks' time on Blu-ray and DVD.

Just William

Just William

Pre-order. DVD

Daniel Roche (Outnumbered) stars as William in this 2010 adaptation of Richmal Crompton's timeless Just William stories, by Simon Nye. A real gem, it was cut short after just four episodes, which are being re-released on DVD just after Easter.

There is only one boy whose irrepressible incorrigibility has delighted children and adults for nearly a century; only one boy who can prick adult pomposity with such satisfying regularity. He reminds us of a time when the country really was the country - a time when children were as free as birds with nothing to feed on but their imaginations - a time when they could leave the house at breakfast and not come home until teatime. His enduring appeal is as fresh today as it has ever been - which is perhaps why he is still making so many of us laugh today - he's Just William.

Michael Palin - The Python Years: Diaries 1969-1979 (Volume 1)

Michael Palin - The Python Years: Diaries 1969-1979 (Volume 1)

Pre-order. Audiobook

Michael Palin has kept a diary since newly married in the late 1960s, when he was beginning to make a name for himself as a TV scriptwriter (for The Two Ronnies, David Frost etc). Monty Python was just around the corner. This first volume of his diaries reveals how Python emerged and triumphed, how he, John Cleese, Graham Chapman, the two Terrys - Jones and Gilliam - and Eric Idle, came together and changed the face of British comedy.

Available in audiobook format for the very first time, Volume 2 is also due to get its debut in the format.

Me Myself & Di

Me Myself & Di

Pre-order. DVD

A new British comedy feature film.

After winning the 'trip of a lifetime' to a caravan park in Rhyl, North Wales, unlucky in love Northerner, Janet, is ready for a holiday romance. Unfortunately, taking the advice of her best friend, Diana - that she should pretend to be the opposite of who she actually is in order to find love - doesn't quite lead to the happily ever after that Janet was hoping for.

A "laugh-out-loud gritty rom-com", its ensemble cast including James Lance (Teachers), Will Mellor (Two Pints Of Lager And A Packet Of Crisps), Larry Lamb (Gavin & Stacey), Marek Oravec (Captain America: The First Avenger), Wim Snape (The Full Monty), and Katy Clayton (Shameless).

Miles Jupp - History

Miles Jupp - History

Pre-order. eBook, Hardback

A satirical, tragicomic story about a man on the edge, from actor and comedian Miles Jupp, for readers of Jonathan Coe, Mark Watson, Michael Frayn and David Nicholls.

Clive Hapgood is feeling stuck. The private school he teaches at is consuming his life, no thanks to wretched headteacher Timothy Crouch. The gentle country life Clive envisaged has stifled him and left his marriage on the brink. What he needs is a holiday - something to remind him and Helen what life used to be like. But when things don't go to plan, and an incident at school begins to weigh heavy on his head, Clive's life starts to unravel in front of him. Has he got it in him to turn things around, whatever the cost? After all, it's his own time he's wasting...

Phil Wang - Sidesplitter: How To Be From Two Worlds At Once

Phil Wang - Sidesplitter: How To Be From Two Worlds At Once

Pre-order. Paperback, Hardback, eBook, Audiobook

"But where are you really from?" Phil Wang has been asked this question so many times he's lost count. So, finally, he decided to write a book about it. About how to be from two places at once.

Phil was born in the UK, in Stoke-on-Trent to an English mother and a Chinese-Malaysian father. Three weeks after his birth, the Wang family returned to his father's hometown in Malaysia, and at age 16, Phil was uprooted once again, to return with his family to the UK. In Sidesplitter, Phil reflects on race, belonging and cultural cachet, bringing his trademark cynicism and wit to topics that range from food and comedy to empire and colonialism.

For more, see our full list of new releases and products coming soon.

Out now

Staged - Series 1 And 2

Staged - Series 1 And 2

Out now. DVD

David Tennant and Michael Sheen (playing themselves) were due to star in a production of Six Characters In Search Of An Author in the West End. The pandemic has put paid to that, but their director (Simon Evans - also playing himself) is determined not to let the opportunity pass him by. He knows how big a chance this is for him and turns his attention to cajoling his stars into rehearsing over the internet. Includes all episodes from Series 1 & 2 of the critically acclaimed BBC One comedy.

A complete script book from the two series is currently seeking crowdfunding.

North By Northamptonshire- The Complete BBC Radio Comedy Series

North By Northamptonshire- The Complete BBC Radio Comedy Series

Out now. Audio Download

All three series of the bittersweet BBC radio comedy narrated by Sheila Hancock following the adventures of the residents of a small town in Northamptonshire - plus special episode Full Stop. Stars include Mackenzie Crook, Felicity Montagu, Katherine Jakeways and Kevin Eldon.

Relationships have come and gone but life continues in Wadenbrook, where Hancock takes us behind closed doors to reveal the inhabitants' heartbreak and happiness. We meet Rod the local supermarket manager, who shares rather more than is usual about his private life over the store's tannoy system, and recently divorced Jan who's been trying unsuccessfully to 'find herself'. Forthright self-defence teacher Esther and her gentle and put-upon husband Jonathan are trying to start a family, and Ken and Keith, possibly the happiest couple in town, are determined to teach their pet whippets to dance for the town talent night.

Sean McLoughlin - Hail Mary

Sean McLoughlin - Hail Mary

Out now. Audio Download

Sean McLoughlin's stand-up show, which he performed at Edinburgh Fringe 2018 and then toured around the world.

The human race is at a crossroads: on one path lies the future, with its twitchy technology and mega-corporations who know us better than we know ourselves; on the other lies the past and all the conflict and mystery that entails. In the middle stands Sean, the unlikely everyman, trying to plot a course for both himself and mankind.

It's In The Air

It's In The Air

Out now. Blu-ray, DVD

It's In The Air (released early in 1939) finds everyone's favourite fool fulfilling his dream of joining the RAF - though, of course, he does it the hard way! The pre-war Ealing comedy co-stars Polly Ward, Jack Hobbs, Garry Marsh and Hal Gordon, and has now been restored and remastered in HD for the first time, for a crystal-clear picture.

Hapless George's dreams of flying are continually thwarted, and when he's even rejected for a job as an air raid warden he sneakily tries on his brother-in-law's RAF despatch rider uniform. Finding an urgent communiqué in its pockets he decides to deliver it himself... and ends up with his head in the clouds - though not in the way he'd expected!

Joe Dieffenbacher - Clown: The Physical Comedian

Joe Dieffenbacher - Clown: The Physical Comedian

Out now. Paperback, Hardback, eBook

Clown: The Physical Comedian is a detailed and comprehensive workbook for anyone interested in the art of clowning, including actors, directors, improvisers, stand-up comedians, circus acts and commedia ensembles.

An extensive and diverse compilation of tried-and-tested exercises and games, the book aids ensemble-building, character development, devising theatre, physicalising text, vocalising movement plus creating cabaret acts, clown routines and commedia scenes. It offers advice on subjects such as developing presence onstage; increasing strength, flexibility and physical expression; developing partner and trio relationships; understanding the power of mask; and working with an audience - in particular, turning a performance into a conversation and the power of connecting with a crowd.

James Acaster's Findings

James Acaster's Findings

Out now. Audio Download

You may know him from Dave's Hypothetical, his Netflix series Repertoire, his podcast Off Menu or James Acaster's Perfect Sounds, but before all of that James Acaster was one of the top researchers working in the UK today. In these five shows, he probes deeply into a variety of subjects - and shares his eye-opening conclusions.

Accompanied by agreeable assistant Nathaniel Metcalfe and Donna from the Complaints Department he tackles the big questions on the topics of bread, wood, fruit, wheels and paint.

Also included is a bonus short story, Comic Fringes episode Sorry For Your Loss, recorded in front of a live audience at the 2012 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

For more, see our full list of new releases and products coming soon.

Thanks for reading

You can find our full comedy shop on our website at any time, and some of the best new release news, competitions and bargains on Twitter: @BritComedyShop.

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