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HOW TO BOOK ONLINE
wellscomfest.com
BY PHONE
0333 666 3366 via TicketSource
IN PERSON
The Box Office is open during the festival weekend, located at Wells Little Theatre, where you can buy tickets to all Wells Comedy Festival shows. Tickets for all venues should be purchased at the box office at Wells Little Theatre – they cannot be purchased at each individual venue.
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Cedars Hall, 15 The Liberty, BA5 2LQ Wells Little Theatre: Main House and Rehearsal Room, Chamberlain Street, BA5 2PS White Hart Hotel, 19-21 Sadler Street, BA5 2RR Tramways, West Steet, BA5 2HN The Venue, 42 South Street, BA5 1SL Sou
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BOX OFFICE OPENING TIMES
Friday May 25: 5pm – 9.30pm Saturday May 26: 10am – 9.30pm Sunday May 27: 10am – 9.30pm
TICKETS AND SEATING
All shows at Cedars Hall and Wells Little Theatre: Main House have allocated seating. All shows at other venues are unallocated. Please bring along tickets to each individual show, either printed out or on a phone screen, as tickets will be scanned and will not be available to collect from any venue.
ENJOYED THE SHOW? LET US KNOW! WellsComFest
HELLO WELLS! We’re delighted to be returning for the fourth year of our annual weekend-long comedy jamboree, and 2018’s is set to be a cracker. We’ve added three new venues - Tramways, The Venue, and the Wells Little Theatre Rehearsal Room - and will be running a lively, late-night bar at Wells Little Theatre until 1am every night, making sure that your evening doesn’t have to end just because the shows have. We’re over the moon with this year’s programme, too, and can’t wait to welcome the best live comedy acts out there to the smallest city in England. From famous faces including Alexei Sayle, Rhod Gilbert, Sara Pascoe and Limmy, to exciting emerging talents like Fern Brady, Lucy Pearman, Kiri Pritchard-McLean and Luke McQueen, and with tickets from as little as £6 why not take a chance on something new? Have a flick through the line-up, have a brilliant festival, and we’ll see you in the bar!
Ben Williams, Festival Director
ACCESS Cedars Hall, Wells Little Theatre: Main House and Rehearsal Room and Tramways are wheelchair accessible and have wheelchair spaces available. To book wheelchair spaces, please contact info@wellscomfest.com. Wells Little Theatre: Main House has an induction loop fitted. Shows at Cedars Hall offer free disabled-only parking allocated in the car park adjacent to Cedars House on The Liberty – to reserve a space please call 01749 834483. Unfortunately, The Venue and The White Hart Hotel don’t have disabled access, as both rooms are up a flight of stairs. The White Hart Hotel has 15 steps, and The Venue has 26 steps.
THANKS The Wells Comedy Festival wouldn’t be possible without a huge amount of help and support from so many people. Thanks to Tim Lethaby at the Wells Journal, to Sarah Wallbridge at First Buses and to David Holland at Glide Media. To Charlie Phillips and Danny Hillard at Storm Productions Group. Thanks to festival staff Ellie Williams, Lyn Jones, Vikki Mizon, John Williams, Clarissa Maycock, Abby Mizon, Jen Pearce, Charlie Mizon, Maddy Lloyd-Jones, Jack De’Ath and Matthew Highton. To Jed Dawson, Gerry Douglas, Fraser Millward, Lucy Burton, Matt and all our technicians. To all at Cedars Hall, Wells Little Theatre, White Hart Hotel, Tramways and The Venue. Jel Holmes at Dusted Design, Darren Berry and Guy Dawson. To Bianco Rosso Pizza Co and Claud the Butler. All our volunteers – the lifeblood of the festival! To the beautiful city of Wells, its residents and businesses, for their continued support. And finally, thanks to all the incredible comics taking part, and to you lot, the audience, for making sure they don’t play to empty rooms.
PARTNERS
Media Partner
Transport Partner
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WELLS COMEDY FESTIVAL BAR AT WELLS LITTLE THEATRE OPEN TIL 1AM Relax with a drink at the Festival Bar, serving a wide array of local alcoholic and soft drinks late into the evening. We have proper Somerset cider, West Country beer – including a specially brewed batch just for the festival – and much more.
PIZZA, COFFEE AND CAKE This year, the festival welcomes the Bianco Rosso Pizza Co – serving up fresh wood-fired pizzas, arancini and focaccia – and Claud the Butler – bringing its pop-up café, offering artisan coffee and home-baked cakes. Both are serving outside the Wells Little Theatre all weekend. So come enjoy something delicious to eat and drink.
TRANSPORT BY BUS
The best way to get to the Festival is by bus. First Bus routes 29, 126, 161/162, 173, 375, 376, 377 and X75 all stop in Wells. First Bus run regular services from Bristol, Bath, Glastonbury, Street, Yeovil, Taunton, Weston-super-Mare and Cheddar. Visit firstgroup.com for full timetables.
BY CAR
Parking is available all festival weekend at Palace Fields, near the Bishop’s Palace – access via Silver Street.
BOOK ONLINE WELLSCOMFEST.COM
4
FRIDAY MAY 25
MARK WATSON
THIS IS HALFWAY TO BEING A SHOW
Wells Little Theatre: Main House, 7pm (60 mins), £10 Tramways, 9pm (60 mins), £10 Other people make up most of the world’s population. Why are we all so bad at understanding one another? The star of ‘Taskmaster’ and ‘Bear Gryll’s Celebrity Island’ returns with a work-in-progress.
OPENING GALA Cedars Hall, 7pm (150 mins), £16 The 2018 Wells Comedy Festival Opening Gala features a surprise line-up of acts all introduced by festival favourite and ‘The Mash Report’ star, Nish Kumar. What better way to kick off the weekend?
JARRED CHRISTMAS REMARKABLY AVERAGE – WORK-IN-PROGRESS
Tramways, 7pm (60 mins), £8 I had a DNA test and there is nothing remarkable about my genetics at all, which came as a shock. I’m dealing with my own Averageness but I’m not going to let my humdrum results stop me putting on a show. Thank you for your support at this painfully average time. ‘One of the funniest men to pick up a microphone’ Time Out
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FRIDAY MAY 25
TEZ ILYAS TEZTIFY
White Hart Hotel, 7pm (60 mins), £10 Armed with his trademark cheek and uncompromising approach, Tez presents his slick, smart and typically subversive new stand-up show. As seen on BBC2’s ‘Mock The Week’, ‘Live at the BBC’ – and heard on BBC Radio 4 with ‘Tez Talks’. ‘Thoughtful but radiantly entertaining’ HHHH The Times
KIRI PRITCHARDMCLEAN APPROPRIATE ADULT
The Venue, 7pm (60 mins), £8 Kiri thinks the world revolves around her, but she didn’t let that stop her wishing to mentor vulnerable kids. Consequently, she’s going to be extremely careful what she wishes for in future. An immoral comedian’s morality tale about other people’s lack of morals.
STEEN RASKOPOULOS Wells Little Theatre: Rehearsal Room, 7.15pm (60 mins), £7 An hour of carefully crafted characters and inspired spontaneity in Steen’s Wells Comedy Festival debut. As seen on BBC’s ‘Top Coppers’, Sky’s ‘Halloween Shorts’ and ‘Whose Line is it Anyway? Australia’; don’t miss this gifted and masterful improviser.
BOOK ONLINE WELLSCOMFEST.COM
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FRIDAY MAY 25
DESIREE BURCH UNF*CKABLE
White Hart Hotel, 9pm (60 mins), £10 This raw and raucous hour from virtuoso storyteller Desiree Burch lays out a roadmap for escaping the silence and self-loathing that comes from always being taken for a ride. A celebration of the transformation that happens when you get into the driver’s seat, stop getting f*cked, and start getting f*£%$@!ed.
SARA PASCOE WORK-INPROGRESS
Wells Little Theatre: Main House, 9pm (60 mins), £10 Also on Saturday May 26 Wells Little Theatre: Main House, 1pm (60 mins), £10 A stand-up comedy show is someone talking; saying stories and telling lies and trying to be funny. This show is exactly like that, performed by the comedian Sara Pascoe.
TOM NEENAN
IT’S ALWAYS INFINITY – WORKIN-PROGRESS The Venue, 9pm (60 mins), £6 A multi-media-characternarrative-comedy show about Tom Neenan’s attempt to turn the search for his missing girlfriend into a piece of important art. (Nobody went missing in the creation of this show.)
‘Always clever and sometimes exquisite’ The Independent
GEIN’S FAMILY GIFTSHOP VOL. 3
Wells Little Theatre: Rehearsal Room, 9.15pm (60 mins), £8 Like persistent dandruff, the multi award-winning sketch group are back and they are itching to show you what they’ve come up with. Skin ailments aside, the four strong, five star sketch group can’t wait to hawk out their highly anticipated third hour.
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SATURDAY MAY 26
JAMES ACASTER
COLD LASAGNE HATE MYSELF 1999
Cedars Hall, 1pm (60 mins), £10 Cedars Hall, 3pm (60 mins), £10 Calling shows a ‘Work in Progress’ is for wimps. Sure, this show is closer to its conception than its conclusion but am I going to fall back on calling it a ‘work in progress’??? Absolutely not. Is it shonky as hell? Sure. Will it be worth the ticket price? Comedy is subjective.
AHIR SHAH WORK-INPROGRESS
Wells Little Theatre: Rehearsal Room, 1.15pm (60 mins), £6 Edinburgh Comedy Award Best Show 2017 nominee, Ahir Shah is one of the fastest-rising comedians of his generation. Shah’s sharp, intellectual brand of stand-up features a blend of philosophical inquiry, political vigour, and sweet gags.
NISH KUMAR
‘One of his generation’s most eloquent comic voices’ HHHH Telegraph
WORK-INPROGRESS
OPEN ARMS
The Venue, 1pm (60 mins), £7
Tramways, 1pm (60 mins), £10 Wells Little Theatre: Main House, 7pm (60 mins), £10 New material from Nish Kumar, host of BBC Two’s ‘The Mash Report’. As seen on ‘Live at the Apollo’, ‘Have I Got News For You’, ‘Mock the Week’, ‘QI’ and ‘Question Time’. Edinburgh Comedy Award Nominee 2015 and 2016. ‘Utterly brilliant’ HHHHH Time Out
KWAME ASANTE Edinburgh Comedy Award Best Newcomer Nominee Kwame Asante brings his award nominated show to Wells. His eagerly anticipated debut sees him work through a collection of his best observations and anecdotes from his recent transitions. Listeners, nodders, smilers, and laughers will all be welcomed with open arms.
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SATURDAY MAY 26
JESSIE CAVE SUNRISE
White Hart Hotel, 1pm (60 mins), £7 Jessie goes on a date.
ROB NEWMAN’S
TOTAL ECLIPSE OF DESCARTES Wells Little Theatre: Main House, 3pm (60 mins), £12 Rob Newman attempts to piece together a philosophy for our troubled times by sifting through 3000 years of thought: from Pythagoras to Artificial Intelligence by way of Pavlov’s dogs, Jane Goodall’s chimpanzees and Frankie Howerd’s trousers. ‘He is the funniest comedian I have ever seen… A passionate, chaotically brilliant comedian’ Sunday Times
When comedy just isn’t enough... Laughter is good, but everyone needs to talk things through sometimes. We all need a bit of extra help now and again. Whether it’s anxiety, panic attacks, phobia, relationship problems, bereavement, or just that nagging sense that life could be better, I can help.
To find out about a free initial consultation, please call Faye on 01749 671170 or email
Faye Blackwell FHS, MNCS (Acc) Hypnotherapy, Counselling and Informal Counselling from Wells, Somerset
fayeblackwell@counsellingsomerset.com BOOK BY PHONE 0333 www.counsellingsomerset.com 666 3366 9
SATURDAY MAY 26
TONY LAW
BEN TARGET
Tramways, 3pm (60 mins), £12 Tramways, 5pm (60 mins), £12
The Venue, 3pm (60 mins), £6
ABSURDITY FOR COMMON PEOPLE
WORK-INPROGRESS
New ideas from ‘maverick physical comedian (and Edinburgh Best Newcomer nominee) Ben Target’ (Guardian).
After another sell out run at this year’s fringe Tony’s ready to take his unique brand of stand-up across the UK in a landmark tour. This year he’s packing shadow puppetry, trampolining and the Silk Road. Stupendously surreal, there is nobody quite like this delirious Canadian.
JOSEPH MORPURGO HAMMERHEAD
‘Imagine there was no Ben Target. The world would unquestionably be a darker, less interesting place’ HHHH Chortle ‘A true original and a legend in the making’ Guardian
White Hart Hotel, 3pm (60 mins), £10 Joseph Morpurgo presents his masterpiece: a boundarysmashing, 9-hour adaption of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Or is it? Outlandishly funny multimedia comedy and new voodoo from the distinguished mind of the 2015 Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee and BBC Radio 4 star Joseph Morpurgo. HHHH Telegraph
LAZY SUSAN
WORK-IN-PROGRESS
Wells Little Theatre: Rehearsal Room, 3.15pm (60 mins), £6 With a BBC Radio 4 series under their belts, the Foster’s Comedy Award nominees Lazy Susan have had the audacity to attempt a new show. Expect a hot mess of sketches, characters and a few home-truths. Come and bear witness!
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SATURDAY MAY 26
SPENCER JONES THE AUDITION
Wells Little Theatre: Main House, 5pm (60 mins), £8 A day in the life of an idiot. A life changing email, a son with big questions and a lot of tennis balls. Spencer Jones returns with a mash-up of music, prop and character comedy. NOMINEE: BEST SHOW 2017 Lastminute.com Edinburgh Comedy Awards
ABOUT AN HOUR WITH ADAM RICHES White Hart Hotel, 5pm (60 mins), £6 The Edinburgh Comedy Award Winner returns to Wells with another blistering, sixty-minute, work-in-progress. Expect laughs, unbroken eye contact and a fair amount of what previous legal counsels for previous audience members have referred to as ‘physical business’. ‘Will make you laugh yourself silly and what could be better than that?’ Telegraph
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- MOT testing station - Servicing to all makes & models - Full repair workshop & diagnostic facilities to the latest spec - Air con service & repair - Within easy walking distance of Wells Cathedral and city centre 01749 674554 www.bowleysgarage.co.uk
VISIT OUR LATE-NIGHT FESTIVAL BAR, OPEN TIL 1AM! 11 page 4 for details See
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SATURDAY MAY 26
LUCY PEARMAN WORK-IN-PROGRESS
The Venue, 5pm (60 mins), £6 Absolute, harmless nonsense and some work-in-progress from Lucy Pearman. Some lovely grapes, some lovely shapes. Watch out for the worm. Nominee: lastminute.com Edinburgh Comedy Awards – Best Newcomer 2017 ‘First steps on the road to household name’ HHHH Sunday Times
LIMMY’S VINES Cedars Hall, 6pm (120 mins), £15 Limmy is perhaps best known for BBC Scotland’s ‘Limmy’s Show’, but when that came to an end, Limmy turned to Vine, recording 6-second videos. When Vine came to an end, Limmy had created over an hour’s worth of nightmarish nonsense, improvised characters, and the one with the spider crawling out his mouth.
LOU SANDERS
AN APOLOGY TO ALL THE GUYS I’VE TOUCHED
Wells Little Theatre: Rehearsal Room, 5.15pm (60 mins), £6 Lou has been on ‘Russell Brand’s Stand Off for Red Nose Day’, has appeared twice on ‘Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled’ and was a reporter on ‘The Russell Howard Hour’.
Join Limmy as he introduces a screening of the Vines, followed by an audience Q&A.
LLOYD GRIFFITH WORK-INPROGRESS
Tramways, 7pm (60 mins), £8 Lloyd Griffith comes back to his favourite cathedral city in Somerset to muck about and try some new jokes for his new tour. Expect a bit of incredible choral singing too. Host of ‘Soccer AM’ (Sky). Jack Whitehall and Rob Beckett’s tour support and Diane Griffith’s son.
‘Destined for hugeness’ Time Out ‘Genuinely different’ The Scotsman
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SATURDAY MAY 26
LUKE MCQUEEN WORK-INPROGRESS
The Venue, 7pm (60 mins), £6 My show this year is about me trying to make you laugh for an hour. I’m not one of those comedians that will try to make you cry or question your opinions. This will be my fifth solo show. The other four have been completely degrading.
DANE BAPTISTE
HHHH Chortle
G.O.D. (GOLD. OIL. DRUGS.)
FERN BRADY
SUFFER, FOOLS!
Wells Little Theatre: Rehearsal Room, 7.15pm (60 mins), £8
White Hart Hotel, 7pm (60 mins), £10 Tramways, 9pm (60 mins), £10 Fresh from hosting ‘Live at the Apollo’ and another total sell out run at the Edinburgh Fringe, Dane Baptiste brings his third smash hit show on a national tour. ‘Masterfully crafted’ HHHHH The Herald
After selling her first two Edinburgh Fringe runs out on word-of-mouth alone, whipsmart Scottish stand-up Fern Brady makes her Wells debut. Bold, brash and sometimes brutal, Fern uses her unique world view to dissect politics and relationships with passionate honesty. ‘An astounding hour’ HHHHH The List
‘Observational comedy at its finest’ HHHH The Independent
SATURDAY NIGHT GALA Cedars Hall, 9pm (90 mins), £15 90 minutes, a surprise line-up of acts – it’s the Wells Comedy Festival’s Saturday Night Gala. Hosted by one the best MCs in the country, and co-host of the ‘All Killa, No Filla’ podcast, Kiri PritchardMcLean.
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SATURDAY MAY 26
PAUL FOOT
IMAGE CONSCIOUS – PREVIEW White Hart Hotel, 9pm (60 mins), £10 Also on Sunday May 27 Tramways, 3pm (60 mins), £10 Have you ever considered the unique predicament of the soft-shell crab? Well I have. That animal is absolutely ridiculous. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg, which incidentally is a terrible type of lettuce.
RHOD GILBERT
WORK IN VERY EARLY PROGRESS
Wells Little Theatre: Main House, 9pm (60 mins), £15 Also on Sunday May 27 Wells Little Theatre: Main House, 9pm (60 mins), £15 After six years away from live stand-up, I’m gagging to get back on stage. Not like before though… different. Real life stuff. I’ll be rustier than a Welsh barbecue, so why not come along and see me flailing around, trying to find my notes and looking like a total twat?
STEPHEN BAILEY CAN’T THINK STRAIGHT
The Venue, 9pm (60 mins), £8 Meet your new potty-mouthed best friend, who supported Katherine Ryan and Jenny Éclair on their recent sell-out UK tours. Stephen Bailey’s friendly, open brand of gossipy humour has made him one of the most enjoyable acts on the UK comedy circuit today.
BRETT GOLDSTEIN
WHAT IS LOVE BABY DON’T HURT ME – WORK-IN-PROGRESS
Wells Little Theatre: Rehearsal Room, 9.15pm (60 mins), £6 Brett Goldstein fell in love. He wouldn’t recommend it. Award-winning stand-up comedian and actor (‘SuperBob’, ‘Derek’, ‘Drifters’, ‘Uncle’) Brett Goldstein makes his Wells Comedy Festival debut with his brand new show about love, primary relationships, and why Shakespeare can go xxxx himself.
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SUNDAY MAY 27
JARRED CHRISTMAS & HOBBIT
AGES
6+
THE MIGHTY KIDS BEATBOX GAMESHOW
White Hart Hotel, 11am (60 mins), £7 Hey kids, grab your parents and come to the best game show in town. Learn some beatboxing tips to impress your friends and your enemies. Great family entertainment from two really great blokes who are just crazy enough to pull this nonsense off.
HAL CRUTTENDEN WORK-IN-PROGRESS
Cedars Hall, 1pm (60 mins), £8 Hal Cruttenden brings his brand new show to Wells Comedy Festival. One of the top stand-up comedians touring the UK today, he has made several appearances on programmes including ‘Live at the Apollo’ and ‘Have I Got News For You’.
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SUNDAY MAY 27
ANGELA BARNES WORK-IN-PROGRESS
Tramways, 1pm (60 mins), £8 BBC New Comedy Award-winner Angela Barnes makes her Wells Comedy Festival debut with a work-in-progress. As seen on ‘Live at the Apollo’, a regular on ‘Mock the Week’ and host of BBC Radio 4 Extra’s ‘Newsjack’. ‘She’s just a gloriously down-to-earth, straight talking and extremely funny comic’ The Guardian
LARRY DEAN
WORK-IN-PROGRESS White Hart Hotel, 1pm (60 mins), £6 A preview of the brand-new show from award-winning comedian and writer Larry Dean. Following hot on the heels of Larry’s UK wide tour of his Edinburgh Fringe 2017 success, Fandan, and his ‘Live at the Apollo’ debut, this is an hour of new material from an ‘unexpected and excellent’ (The Sunday Times) rising star. ‘Has the easy charm of an arena comic and the high joke rate too’ Guardian
RICHARD HERRING’S
LEICESTER SQUARE THEATRE PODCAST (EXCEPT AT THE WELLS COMEDY FESTIVAL)
Wells Little Theatre: Main House, 1pm (60 mins), £10 The ‘Podfather’ (Guardian) and ‘King of the Internet’ (Time Out) brings his award winning podcast to Wells, in which he chats with a festival guest to be confirmed. It’s much better live, with the chance to interact with your favourite comedy stars and even ask your own questions!
EVELYN MOK
WORK-IN-PROGRESS
The Venue, 1pm (60 mins), £6 Featured on BBC 3, Channel 4 and Comedy Central, the award-winning Swedish comedian presents a work in progress that promises to be ‘uncensored, unapologetic and… wildly refreshing’ HHHH (BroadwayBaby).
BOOK ONLINE WELLSCOMFEST.COM
16
SUNDAY MAY 27
ELF LYONS SWAN
Wells Little Theatre: Rehearsal Room, 1.15pm (60 mins), £7 Edinburgh Comedy Awards – Nominee ‘Best Show’ 2017 Fringe World Perth – Nominee ‘Best Comedy’ 2018 The giraffe-limbed clown and raconteur is delighted to bring her smash hit show to Wells Comedy festival: a one woman production of Swan Lake. In an hour. (Yes, really). Matthew Bourne would be proud. ‘The funniest thing you’ll see’ HHHHH Voice Mag
HARRIET KEMSLEY WORK-INPROGRESS
The Venue, 3pm (60 mins), £6 Harriet’s in town with a new show and she’s brushed her hair specially. You might have seen her in; VICELAND’s ‘Bobby & Harriet Get Married’, Comedy Central’s ‘Roast Battle’, and Jo Brand’s Channel 4 Sitcom ‘Damned’.
RICHARD HERRING
‘A quirky, refreshingly charming comedian at the dawn of her TV career’ Radio Times
OH FRIG, I’M 50!
Wells Little Theatre: Main House, 3pm (60 mins), £12 Richard Herring gets to the half century (against all odds) and looks at how his life has changed in the last decade, from irresponsible, single kidult, to married father who is midway to the telegram from the Queen. ‘A gloriously infantile delight in mischief, provocation and inspired rudeness’ Guardian
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COLIN HOULT
AS ANNA MANN IN HOW WE STOP THE FASCISTS Wells Little Theatre: Rehearsal Room, 3.15pm (60 mins), £8 Having effectively cured all depression in her last smash-hit show, actress Anna Mann (Colin Hoult’s ‘masterclass in character comedy’ Time Out) returns to take on the terrifying rise of fascism. Fear not, gentle liberals, Mother Mann is here. ‘Unique and darkly brilliant talent’ HHHH Guardian
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SUNDAY MAY 27
TIM KEY MEGADATE
Cedars Hall, 5pm (70 mins), £16 A brand new 70 minutes, blending poeticals, talking, standing, spotlights, cables, Kronenburg, foot-stamping and old school wistfulness. Edinburgh Comedy Award winner years ago. Key has appeared in ‘Taskmaster’, ‘Inside Number 9’ and the ‘Alan Partridge’ franchise. ‘Flabbergastingly funny… I have never enjoyed myself in a comedy show more’ HHHHH The Times
PAUL SINHA
SHOUT OUT TO MY EX Wells Little Theatre: Main House, 5pm (60 mins), £12 A sell-out show at the 2017 Edinburgh Festival, ‘Shout Out to My Ex’, is Paul’s latest solo stand-up show. Paul has written and performed his own series on Radio 4, and is the Chaser, known as The Sinnerman, on ITV’s ‘The Chase’.
BOOK ONLINE WELLSCOMFEST.COM
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SUNDAY MAY 27
BRETT DOMINO’S HOUSE PARTY White Hart Hotel, 5pm (60 mins), £10 Brett Domino and Steven Peavis bring their keyboards to the Wells Comedy Festival to celebrate the 10th anniversary of their hugely successful band, The Brett Domino Trio.
JOHN KEARNS
Expect unique musical performances, competitions and all-new big-screen videos.
DON’T WORRY THEY’RE HERE
Tramways, 5pm (60 mins), £10 The only ever winner of both the Best Show and Best Newcomer prize at the prestigious Edinburgh Comedy Awards presents his latest standup show: an hour of ‘richly idiosyncratic comedy, frequently compared to Tony Hancock’ (Guardian).
SEAN
MCLOUGHLIN HAIL MARY – WORK-INPROGRESS The Venue, 5pm (60 mins), £6 A new hour of tremendous stand-up from an ‘impassioned and uniquely brilliant talent’ (The List) who supported Ricky Gervais on the 2017/18 Humanity tour. HHHH The Scotsman HHHH Chortle
HHHHH Time Out
HHHH The Skinny
ADAM HESS
WORK-IN-PROGRESS
Wells Little Theatre: Rehearsal Room, 5.15pm (60 mins), £6 Edinburgh Comedy Award-nominated chap and star of ITV’s ‘Tonight at the London Palladium’. He hates other families’ plates, and he had his 18th birthday party on a riverboat on the Thames so when people realised how boring it was they couldn’t leave. ‘I’ve seen few shows that are funnier’ The Times
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BOOK BY PHONE 0333 666 3366
SUNDAY MAY 27
ALEXEI SAYLE Cedars Hall, 7pm (70 mins), £16 ‘Modern comedy? We owe it all to one man’ (Chortle). The Godfather of alternative comedy brings his hit Edinburgh show to Wells Comedy Festival. ‘This is a cracking new offering from a Zen master of stand-up comedy’ HHHH Guardian ‘Fearlessly funny’ HHHH Metro ‘Breathtaking’ HHHHH List
DAVE HILL
A CAVEMAN IN A SPACESHIP Tramways, 7pm (60 mins), £7
DISTRACTION PIECES PODCAST WITH SCROOBIUS PIP – LIVE Wells Little Theatre: Main House, 7pm (60 mins), £10 The Distraction Pieces Podcast is one of the UK’s biggest podcasts, amassing 11 million downloads. At the live podcast the audience become the guest as host Scroobius Pip brings them into the fold for an unpredictable evening of conversation.
New York City-based comedian Dave Hill (‘Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt’, ‘Inside Amy Schumer’) is getting on a plane and then probably a train or two after that to tear the people of Wells a new one in polite and tastefully understated fashion.
MAT EWINS WORK-INPROGRESS
White Hart Hotel, 7pm (60 mins), £6 Videos, Animation, Jokes! Come join fancy multimedia boy Mat Ewins as he tries out some new bits and rejigs some older stuff in what promises to be an absolute show. 2017 Edinburgh Comedy Awards Best Show nominee. ‘A hymn to doodling, daftness and the imagination unplugged. It’s a blast’ Guardian
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20
SUNDAY MAY 27
PAT CAHILL
WORK-IN-PROGRESS
The Venue, 7pm (60 mins), £6 Like a phoenix from the curtain sashes, Pat Cahill returns to Wells Comedy Festival! He’ll be throwing handfuls of stupid ideas at you and seeing what drips. Expect his favourite old singalong songs, the oldest man in the world and generic sauciness. ‘Wonderfully weird’ Guardian
JEN BRISTER WORK-INPROGRESS
Wells Little Theatre: Rehearsal Room, 7.15pm (60 mins), £6 Ever wanted to know the meaning of life? No, neither has Jen, she’s too busy trying to stop her twins from using her shoes as a toilet. Join Jen as she clutches at all the straws trying to make sense of it all. ‘Outrageously funny’ Metro
COMEDIANS CINEMA CLUB: HOT FUZZ Cedars Hall, 9pm (70 mins), £8 Yarp. It’s the Wells Comedy Festival tradition – closing the weekend once again are the Comedians Cinema Club with their chaotic, alcohol-fuelled reinterpretation of Wells’ very own ‘Hot Fuzz’. The full film, improvised live on stage, by a bunch of comedians, for the greater good (the greater good).
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SUNDAY MAY 27
ROB KEMP
THE ELVIS DEAD White Hart Hotel, 9pm (60 mins), £10
Rev up the Delta and come on a trip to a cabin in the Tennessee backwoods via Graceland, to witness: Cult classic horror movie ‘Evil Dead 2’ reinterpreted through the songs of Elvis Presley. Every now and then an idea strikes that seems extremely absurd and yet at the same time bizarrely fitting. This loving tribute concert to the sequel to the ultimate in gruelling terror… and the King of Rock‘n’Roll is such an idea.
JAYDE ADAMS
THE DIVINE MS JAYDE – WORKIN-PROGRESS
ED NIGHT
AN AESTHETIC – WORK-INPROGRESS
The Venue, 9pm (60 mins), £6 BBC Radio 1’s Ed Night makes his Wells Comedy Festival debut with a work-in-progress of his brand new show.
Tramways, 9pm (60 mins), £7 ‘Third funniest woman in the world. Fact.’ Dawn French Jayde Adams has won loads of comedy awards and been nominated for more and is on tele quite a bit now, so you may come to conclusion that she’s worth coming to watch. There’s nothing she can’t do (except rollerblade.)
Edinburgh Comedy Awards Best Newcomer nominee 2017 ‘Ed Night stands at the dawn of the new age of stand up’ Fest ‘One of the future stars of British comedy’ iNews ‘White, male’ Chortle
BOBBY MAIR LOUDLY INSECURE
Wells Little Theatre: Rehearsal Room, 9.15pm (60 mins), £8 ‘Loudly Insecure’ is the story of Bobby being adopted and finding his biological family in 2017 and a collection of his best jokes. Bobby just starred in a reality sitcom for Vice with his wife called ‘Bobby and Harriet Get Married’. He’s appeared on BBC2’s ‘Never Mind the Buzzcocks’, Ch4’s ‘8 Out of 10 Cats’ and BBC3’s ‘Russell Howard’s Good News’.
BOOK ONLINE WELLSCOMFEST.COM
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WELLS
Festival of Literature Our 2018 Festival will run from
THE TEAM BEHIND THE
Friday 19 October to Saturday 27 October
WELLS COMEDY FESTIVAL FOR ALL YOUR COMEDY NEEDS: PLOSIVE.CO.UK
in a new location
Cedars Hall in the heart of Wells Our competitions close on
30 June For full details: wellsfestivalof literature.org.uk
19 – 27
2018
October
Looking for someone who can LOVE your property like you can?
Festival ad.indd 1
12/02/2018 17:11
01749 672 678 BOOK BY PHONE 0333 666 3366 23 stuartsresidential.com
SHOWCASING BRITISH & EUROPEAN CONTEMPORARY & 20TH CENTURY ART Mendip House Upper Breach South Horrington Wells BA5 3QG T 01749 572 373 E ask@andelliart.com
www.andelliart.com
Sat 26 May Over 140 great local food and drink producers Retreat Demo Stage Hawksmoor Cookery School Livestock Entertainment Tractors www.eatfestivals.org
Summer Days Out at The Bishop's Palace • • • • • • •
14 acres of stunning RHS partner gardens Half Term Family Activities from 26th May Garden Festival 22nd-24th June Stunning June rose displays Summer Outdoor Theatre programme Cafe & Gift Shop Annual Membership from only £31
T 01749 988111 ext.200 E info@bishopspalace.org.uk
Cathy Morris-Adams Managing Partner
Francoise Jackson Senior Sales Negotiator
www.bishopspalace.org.uk
After an outstanding 2017, Lodestone Property continues to thrive and grow. Our extensive local knowledge; our customer-focused approach; our large mature viewing team which allows us to cover a wide geographical area across Somerset and our outward-looking approach that produces results from exploiting the modern digital world will put a smile on your face.
Sue Macey Managing Partner
Lyn Jeffries Senior Sales Negotiator
Emma Trickey
Martina Hall
Office Manager
Lettings Negotiator
Please come and visit us in our office at Fry’s Halt, Station Road, Bruton www.lodestoneproperty.co.uk enquiries@lodestoneproperty.co.uk
01749 605099 (sales) 01749 605088 (lettings)
Front row tickets to achieving your financial aspirations
For a free consultation, please contact Lisa Anderson in our Wells office on 01749 335017. www.oldmillgroup.co.uk
Strawberry Concerts
Strawberry Concerts
Strawberry Concerts
Monday 9th July 7.00pm
A Summer Night of Music with Emily Barker and friends
Tuesday 10th July 7.00pm
Vivaldi’s Four Seasons with violinist Adrian Chandler and his acclaimed La Serenissima ensemble Wednesday 11th July 7.00pm
A Centenary Celebration of Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong with the Swing Machine Jazz Orchestra
All tickets include complimentary strawberries and cream. Drinks and a tasty Somerset ploughman’s will be available to purchase or please feel free to bring a picnic to enjoy on Cedars Lawn during the 45 minute supper interval.
Book your tickets http://cedarshall.events
BOOK BY PHONE 0333 666 3366 27 box office: 01749 834483
FULL LISTINGS FRIDAY MAY 25
SUNDAY MAY 27
7pm
Opening Gala
p5
11am
Jarred Christmas & Hobbit
p15
7pm
Mark Watson
p5
1pm
Hal Cruttenden
p15
7pm
Jarred Christmas
p5
1pm
RHLSTP
p16
7pm
Tez Ilyas
p6
1pm
Angela Barnes
p16
7pm
Kiri Pritchard-McLean
p6
1pm
Larry Dean
p16
7:15pm
Steen Raskopoulos
p6
1pm
Evelyn Mok
p16
9pm
Sara Pascoe
p7
1:15pm
Elf Lyons
p17
9pm
Mark Watson
p5
3pm
Richard Herring
p17
9pm
Desiree Burch
p7
3pm
Paul Foot
p14
9pm
Tom Neenan
p7
3pm
Harriet Kemsley
p17
9:15pm
Gein’s Family Giftshop
p7
3:15pm
Colin Hoult
p17
5pm
Tim Key
p18
5pm
Paul Sinha
p18
5pm
John Kearns
p19
5pm
Brett Domino
p19
5pm
Sean McLoughlin
p19
5:15pm
Adam Hess
p19
7pm
Alexei Sayle
p20
7pm
Distractions Pieces Podcast
p20
7pm
Dave Hill
p20
7pm
Mat Ewins
p20
7pm
Pat Cahill
p21
7:15pm
Jen Brister
p21
9pm
Comedians Cinema Club: Hot Fuzz
p21
9pm
Rhod Gilbert
p14
9pm
Jayde Adams
p22
9pm
Rob Kemp
p22
9pm
Ed Night
p22
9:15pm
Bobby Mair
p22
SATURDAY MAY 26 1pm
James Acaster
p8
1pm
Sara Pascoe
p7
1pm
Nish Kumar
p8
1pm 1pm
Jessie Cave Kwame Asante
p9 p8
1:15pm
Ahir Shah
p8
3pm
James Acaster
p8
3pm 3pm
Rob Newman Tony Law
p9 p10
3pm
Joseph Morpurgo
p10
3pm
Ben Target
p10
3:15pm 5pm
Lazy Susan Spencer Jones
p10 p11
5pm
Tony Law
p10
5pm
Adam Riches
p11
5pm
Lucy Pearman
p12
5:15pm
Lou Sanders
p12
6pm
Limmy’s Vines
p12
7pm
Nish Kumar
p8
7pm
Lloyd Griffith
p12
7pm
Dane Baptiste
p13
7pm
Luke McQueen
p13
7:15pm
Fern Brady
p13
9pm
Saturday Night Gala
p13
9pm
Rhod Gilbert
p14
9pm
Dane Baptiste
p13
9pm
Paul Foot
p14
9pm
Stephen Bailey
9:15pm
Brett Goldstein
p14
VISIT OUR LATE-NIGHT FESTIVAL BAR, OPEN TIL 1AM!
BOOK ONLINE WELLSCOMFEST.COM See page 4 for details p14
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