Welcome to the 14th annual Harrogate Comedy Festival! At Harrogate Theatre, we’re thrilled to yet again be bringing some of the biggest names in comedy to various locations across the town.
We’re putting the HAHA back into Harrogate, so get ready to laugh out loud and join us for the festival that celebrates funny! With fantastic acts such as Jason Byrne, Maisie Adam, Ross Noble and da to name just a few.
Tickets for Harrogate Comedy Festival are already selling fast so make sure you don’t miss out.
SUN 15 OCT SOLD OUT
YOU’RE A DIE HARD FAN OR NOT’ THE GUARDIAN
When gunmen seize an LA skyscraper, off-duty policeman John McClane is the hostages’ only hope. This uplifting action romp (and unauthorised parody) pays affectionate tribute to the iconic 80s festive fan favourite Die Hard. This is essential viewing for Hans Gruber superfans and newcomers alike.
This joyfully funny show heads out on tour following rave reviews for its premiere at the Edinburgh Fringe, which also won it a London transfer.
Content warning: divorce, foot trauma, German terrorists.
TUE 03 OCT 7:30pm
Often described as the compère beyond compare, but before becoming a fullyfledged playwright, panellist, performer and stalwart of the Edinburgh Festival, Arthur worked as a road sweeper, dustman, market researcher, teacher and advertised chicken burgers in supermarkets dressed as a fox. A career in comedy was the only one that could follow a build up like that!
His career has been split between appearing on top quiz shows, fronting the funny section in Loose Ends, as a regular on Grumpy Old Men and as a Countdown wordsmith. So join ‘the funniest and most honest comic of his generation’ (The List) for an evening of laughter and nostalgia.
HARRO G ATE THEATRE
In 1954, Tony Hancock burst onto the airwaves of the BBC Light Programme with a comedy show unlike anything the British public had heard before. Playing a less successful version of himself and surrounded by a cast of fellow comedy greats including Sid James, Hattie Jacques and Kenneth Williams, Hancock’s Half Hour was one of the first programmes in the genre we now know as sitcom.
So take a trip to 23 Railway Cuttings, East Cheam to join ‘the lad himself’ and his motley crew for three classic episodes of this hilarious show.
Join Ellie and Helen as they celebrate ten years of scumminess!
For a decade now, The Scummy Mummies have been touring their hit comedy show to sold-out audiences around the country. Now they’re bringing all their most-loved songs, sketches, and stand-up together for a night that will make you laugh till you wee. Guaranteed to make you feel normal about your parenting skills, or very smug about being child-free.
HARRO G ATE THEATRE
HARRO G ATE THEATRE
FRI 06 OCT 7:30pm
We can rebuild him! Jason is, officially Bionic, “ironically” of course, as Jason, the accident-prone, general unfortunate gobsh*te (to no want of his own) is now, half man, half machine. Born with a cock eye (then straightened), his lung collapsed (it was blown back up and sealed with metal pins), appendix removed, cartilage replaced in his knee from a poo-on-the-loo accident, arm dislocated by a wave, heart now functioning on six stents.
Don’t miss The Ironic Bionic Man as he brings us through his one-man, half-machine show. It’s painfully hilarious.
HARRO G ATE THEATREVictoria Melody has made a habit of embedding herself in the world of Britain’s enthusiasts, from pigeon fancier to northern soul dancer. Now she’s trying to crack stand-up comedy.
Wearing technology that shows what happens to your body when you’re funny, Victoria combines storytelling, stand-up, mischief and research to lift the curtain on both the brain, and the secret world of stand-up.
Join Gav Cross for nonsense, nastiness and roaring chaos as we turn childhood tales upside and find out what they’re really about!
Full of laughter and surprises, this is a storytelling show designed to make you laugh, think carefully and approach that children’s library with caution!
Nominated for ‘Best Kids Show’ at the Leicester Comedy Festival 2023 this is the perfect comedy show for ages 7+.
HARROGATE STUDIO THEATRE
Bridget Christie is hot, but not in a good way. The 51 year old critically-acclaimed stand-up leaks blood, sweats, and cannot ride the motorbike she bought to combat her mid-life crisis because of early osteoarthritis in her hips. It’s a menopause laugh-a-minute with a confused, furious, sweaty lady who is annoyed by everything.
Halfway ‘Round The Bend – How I Lost My Mind & Found It Under The Kitchen Table. Lived, written & performed by Dan Hagley.
Based on Dan Hagley’s experience as a Gay man who lives with clinical depression and anxiety, this is an unflinchingly honest and cheerfully anarchic fusion of contemporary writing and stand-up comedy that explores what it really means to live, work and thrive
Contains adult/mental health themes.
WED 11 OCT 7:45pm
HARRO G ATE THEATRE
The annual Frank’s Fund Comedy Gala is back, bigger and better than ever before –and in the new swanky home of Harrogate Theatre!
Maisie Adam will be back in her hometown to host a night of comedy and fundraising for local charity Frank’s Fund which was set up in 2019 in memory of local Harrogate boy, Frank Ashton who sadly passed away from bone cancer aged 14.
Join her and some of her funniest famous pals for an unforgettable evening for a brilliant cause.
For more information on how you can support and make a difference please visit: https://specialfunds.bcrt.org.uk/franks-fund/
HARRO G ATE THEATRE‘Expect a set packed with natural charisma and full of gags…the finished package’
—Steve Bennett, Chortle
In her debut hour, Funny Women Finalist Bronwyn teaches audiences how to build their own personal brand in four easy steps.
British born but American presenting, Bronwyn draws on her own confusing life and a career making ads no one wanted to watch, to explore how to stand out in the crowded marketplace of life. Part hilarious TED talk, part disappointing therapy session, should she have quit her day job to do this? You decide!
Edinburgh Comedy Award winning comedian and ARIA award-winning broadcaster John Robins embarks on his first stand-up tour since 2019. If you’ve seen him before you know what to expect; rage, anxiety and a lot of laughs. If you haven’t seen him before, strap the f**k in!
‘Robins exploits his misery for every single possible laugh – transforming his pain into one long existential comic howl against the human condition’
—The Scotsman
‘A particularly startling brand of funny, this level of self-exposure – because it’s taboo, particularly for a man, to be this distraught in public, far less while encouraging people to laugh about it’
—The Guardian
HARRO G ATE THEATRE
THU 12 OCT 7:30pm
As seen on Mock The Week, BT Sport and ITV. This year Mark’s parents have sold the house he grew up in and he has to collect his box of stuff from the loft. Come discover what’s in the box in this top-level one-liner show.
FRI 13 OCT 8pm
Host of the global smash-hit podcast Have A Word and star of Live At The Apollo. Adam’s concluded that there’s something wrong with him, although for a hypochondriac, that’s not exactly news. A hilarious insight into the mind and body of one of the fastest rising comedians on the planet.
SAT 14 OCT 8pm
Starring Terry Alderton (Live At The Apollo, Eastenders), Tom Houghton (Netflix, Comedy Central), comedy magician El Baldiniho (Britain’s Got Talent, The Comedy Store) and hosted by festival legend Matt Reed – it's just as daft and laugh-out-loud funny as ever!
HARRO G ATE THEATRE
HARRO G ATE THEATRE
HARRO G ATE THEATRE
AN EVENING WITH
SAT 21 OCT 7:30pm
Discover the story behind Adrian Edmondson’s journey to comedy. In this riotous evening of storytelling he’ll look back on his life and answer your own burning questions to celebrate the release of his upcoming memoir, Berserker!
THU 26 OCT 7:30pm
To celebrate his 21st solo stand-up tour, Ross Noble invites you to join him for an evening of the sort of inspired nonsense that has cemented his place as the supreme master of stream of conscious freewheeling stand up.
FRI 27 OCT 7:30pm
The Royal Variety Performance, Live at the Apollo, Sunday Night at the Palladium, Conan O’Brien or perhaps online where he’s clocked up millions of views of his comedy clips… but nothing beats seeing Jimeoin live.
ROYAL HALL HARRO G ATE CONVENTION CENTRE ROYAL HALLCelebrating 40 years on the road in 2023, Dillie, Liza and Adèle, Britain’s raciest and sassiest musical cabaret trio, are bringing their brand-new show to theatres across the UK.
Fascinating Aïda have racked-up millions of internet followers, performed in the world’s most prestigious venues and been showered with awards and plaudits since they sashayed onto the scene back in 1983.
Uniquely charming, with diamondsharp satire, filthy, hilarious, belligerent, political, poignant and outrageous, this indomitable trio are still the mistresses of their craft. Marking this astonishing milestone, the show will feature muchloved favourites and some wickedly hilarious new songs.
ROYAL HALL
YIPPEE KI YAY
AN EVENING WITH ARTHUR SMITH
HANCOCK’S HALF HOUR: THE LOST EPISODES
THE SCUMMY MUMMIES: GREATEST HITS
JASON BYRNE: THE IRONIC BIONIC MAN
VICTORIA MELODY: HEAD SET
GAV CROSS: TELL TALE TWIT
BRIDGET CHRISTIE: WHO AM I?
MAISIE ADAM: FRANK’S FUND COMEDY GALA
BRONWYN SWEENEY: OFF BRAND
DAN HAGLEY: HALFWAY ‘ROUND THE BEND
JOHN ROBINS: HOWL
MARK SIMMONS: QUIP OFF THE MARK
ADAM ROWE: WHAT’S WRONG WITH ME?
HYENA COMEDY FESTIVAL GALA
MIRIAM MARGOLYES: OH MIRIAM! LIVE
AN EVENING WITH ADRIAN EDMONDSON
ROSS NOBLE: JIBBER JABBER JAMBOREE
JIMEOIN: THE CRAIC!
FASCINATING AÏDA: THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY SHOW!
BOX OFFICE: 01423 502116 | TUE–SAT 10am–4pm www.harrogatetheatre.co.uk
All information in this brochure is correct at the time of printing.
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