Comedy

Join Andy Zaltzman for a recording of Radio 4’s flagship topical comedy show as he grabs the week’s headlines and hurls them at four of the nation’s best comedians and journalists.

Writer and comedian Josie Long takes us on a trip through her frank and funny debut story collection, Because I Don't Know What you Mean and What you Don’t, in conversation with classicist and comedian Natalie Haynes. With a cast of characters ranging from friends setting up a business to help relieve the wealthy of their guilt, to a cul-de-sac WhatsApp group with eggs to spare, these tales of the unexpected are comical, refreshing and often deeply relatable. Long won the Best Newcomer award at Edinburgh Fringe Festival and has been nominated three times for Best Show. She is a regular on BBC Radio 4 and the co-presenter of Book Shambles with Robin Ince.

Stand-up comedian, activist and presenter David Baddiel isn’t afraid of a big question, and his latest book – The God Desire – asks one of the biggest: does God exist? Despite a lifetime of fantasising about the existence of God, Baddiel has concluded that it’s that very desire that proves God’s non-existence. With openness and vulnerability, Baddiel – whose career also includes writing novels for adults and children – contributes to one of the most ancient of debates with his trademark wit, honesty and humour.

Welsh comedian Kiri Pritchard-McLean hosts our Friday night comedy club featuring the wonderfully offbeat Toussaint Douglass, Edinburgh award-winner Sam Campbell and “furiously funny” (Guardian) Jen Brister. Brought to you by Little Wander, the team behind the Machynlleth Comedy Festival.

TikTok comedian and podcaster Fatima, known as Fats, is here to tell you that you are the hero that your story needs. Born with the genetic condition achondroplasia, which affects the growth of bones, she’s had to develop her superpower. In Main Character Energy, she shares how through the good and the bad times, she’s learned a few lessons which have made her fearless, and taught her how to be her own champion. With some sage advice and more than a few jokes, Fats teaches you how to embody main character energy with her 10 commandments for living fearlessly.

Fats Timbo is in conversation with TikTok creator Benjy Kusi, author of Hope this Helps.

Jason Byrne has not only had his heart unblocked and been given a new lease of life, but his whole career has been unblocked too! The constipation of Covid has been cleared, live entertainment has been colonically irrigated and readied up for us all. The bans from social media platforms have been lifted and Jason is back dishing up platters of fun to everyone. Join Jason live on stage as he unleashes what he does best. Guaranteed pure and utter unblocked joy and laughter. (This guarantee is not guaranteed.)

Enjoy an evening of dazzling entertainment from Black Mountains Burlesque. Five dancers bring a riot of colour to the Festival with a series of bedtime stories for grown-ups. Experience classic stories brought to life with wit, glamour and laughter, behold the spectacle and be blown away by the playful art of seductive tease…

Twitter’s unofficial poet laureate Brian Bilston presents an hour of poetry and laughter as he reads from work including his latest book Days Like These. Expect poems that will take the blues out of Monday, flatten the Wednesday hump and amplify that Friday feeling, from January through to December.

Kiri Pritchard-McLean (Have I Got News For You, Live at the Apollo, and Would I Lie to You? ) is on her way! It’s been a big few years for most of us and Kiri is no different. She’s moved back to her home island of Anglesey, struggled with lockdown and got herself some rescue chickens. You can expect jokes about skinny jeans, learning Welsh and white supremacy.

“Making powerhouse stand-up from the thorniest of subjects” – Guardian

Enjoy a little light ridicule, mockery and fun to start the day as the satirists read the papers and see what’s trending online. An irreverent look at what’s tickling the nation’s fancy – and driving it to splenetic fury – today. Strong coffee recommended.

Books, books and more books: Robin Ince’s quest to discover just why he can never have enough books is one familiar to many a bookworm, and one he’s recorded in his book Bibliomaniac. Ince, co-presenter with Professor Brian Cox of the BBC Radio 4 show and podcast The Infinite Monkey Cage, shares anecdotes and tall tales from his tour of more than 100 bookshops, undertaken when the pandemic resulted in the cancellation of his stadium tour with Cox. From Wigtown to Penzance and Swansea to Margate, Ince talks to comedian Marcus Brigstocke about his epic journey, meeting book lovers and what he discovered about his own addiction to books.

There is so much to yell about, but there’s also so much to be delighted by. Mark Steel knows the world is a heap of contradictions; after all, he was brought up in a working-class street in Kent only to discover his natural father was a millionaire backgammon player who was best mates with Lord Lucan. He’s just trying to stay young while being unable to log into any website, and trying to be respectable and mainstream until he finds something to rant about. Join him for an evening (and maybe a little longer if there’s a lot to talk about) of comedy, with a piano and a bit of singing. Steel is a regular on the BBC’s Have I Got News For You, QI and BBC R4’s News Quiz.

Performers and directors from two ground-breaking acclaimed productions, Peaceophobia and Waswasa – which explore faith, systemic racism and the lived experience of young Muslim men in Bradford and Birmingham – discuss why the arts are so secular and if audiences are scared of faith, and why. This will be a unique script reading performance accompanied by film and projection, and followed by a post-show conversation.

Peaceophobia is on a current UK tour, co-produced by Fuel Theatre and Common Wealth, written by Zia Ahmed. Waswasa is a show by Mohammed Ali MBE, Soul City Arts and originally commissioned by B2022 Festival.

James Hodkinson is Professor of Modern Languages and plays a leading role in the Institute of Public Engagement at Warwick University. He specialises in forging links between academic research and the arts sector.

A little light ridicule, mockery and fun to start the day as the satirists read the tabloids and surf the social media storms for an irreverent look at what’s tickling the nation’s fancy – and driving it to splenetic fury – today.

Palestine Comedy Club (PalCom) is a Palestinian-UK collaboration fusing comic traditions from both cultures and supporting Palestinian comedians to tour in Palestine and beyond. Comedian, writer and activist Mark Thomas and three Palestinian comics – Alaa Shehada, Diana Swity and Hanna Shammas – perform stand-up, as well as discuss the evolution of PalCom and the challenges and ironies of staging comedy under occupation.

The comedian, writer and actor known for his sharp suits, acerbic wit and riotous storytelling has finally moved out of his parents’ house, meaning he has lots of life updates to give, from getting audience opinions on his vegetable patch and delving into the protocol of inviting friends with children for dinner. Tom Allen is the host of The Apprentice: You’re Fired and co-hosts Cooking With The Stars, Like Minded Friends and appears as a commentator on Bake Off: An Extra Slice. Prepare for a stomach-achingly funny evening.

A little light ridicule, mockery and fun to start the day as the satirists read the tabloids and surf the social media storms for an irreverent look at what’s tickling the nation’s fancy – and driving it to splenetic fury – today.

Nothing is off the menu in this frank, revealing and very funny show. In her first ever live performance, Prue Leith will take us through the ups and downs of being a successful restaurateur, novelist, businesswoman and Great British Bake Off judge – feeding the rich and famous, cooking for royalty and even poisoning her clients.

In the second half of the show she’ll be joined on stage by Clive Tulloh, who will chair a Q&A giving you the chance to ask those questions you’ve always wanted to hear Prue’s take on. She says: “I’ve never done a stage show before and at 82 I’m probably nuts to try it, but it’s huge fun, makes people laugh and lets me rant away about the restaurant trade, publishers, TV and writing, and sing the praises of food, love and life.”

Robin Morgan hosts our Friday night comedy club featuring Bridget Christie, Athena Kugblenu and Isy Suttie. Kugblenu has appeared on shows including Breaking the News, The Russell Howard Hour and Horrible Histories, and hosted the BBC Radio 4 show Athena’s Cancel Culture. Suttie is a musical comedian, writer and actress who played Dobby in the sitcom Peep Show. Christie is star of her own Netflix special and a favourite on Taskmaster whose work includes Channel 4 sitcom The Change and BBC Radio 4 series Bridget Christie Minds the Gap. The event is brought to you by Little Wander, the team behind Machynlleth Comedy Festival.

Dara Ó Briain was ready for a break after 180 performances of his last tour, across 20 countries and two years. That was in March 2020 and he now, of course, regrets saying that and will never wish for it again. His new show So…Where Were We? largely ignores the pandemic, and contains his usual mix of stories, one-liners, audience messing and tripping over his words by talking too quickly because he's so giddy to be back in front of a crowd.