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Bristol Comedy & Stand-Up Events

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Bristol's Comedy Scene

Bristol is an essential stop-off in the UK comedy circuit. The Comedy Box is probably the city’s most prolific stand up promoter, regular shows bring crowds to The Hen and Chicken, The Tobacco Factory and Colston Hall’s ‘The Lantern’. In summer The Comedy Garden in Queens Square brings a who’s who in British comedy with past guests including Stewart Lee, Marcus Brigstocke, Mark Watson and Shappi Khorsandi. The Loco Club (beneath Temple Meads train station) is home to occasional stand up nights promoted by Bristol Underground Comedy. In the city centre alongside the headliners found at Colston Hall and Bristol Hippodrome, Riproar Comedy host stand-up every Friday and Saturday evening.

Buy tickets for comedy events in Bristol

Our recent comedy recommendations

An absolute gift of a free entry evening with a selection of overlooked queer cinema curated by cross-continental film club GAY24. Featuring electroclash polymath Brontez Purnell’s video mixtapes and Marlon Riggs’s towering 80s essay film on Black gay outsider identity. GAY24 pairs the films of two directors, Brontez Purnell & Marlon Riggs, that each explore the lives of black gay men through coreofilm.

Charming date night romcom alert! Rated R on release because of systemic film board homophobia, this is actually an incredibly sweet yet totally groundbreaking 90s coming-out coming-of-ager bristling with optimism and light-hearted joy ft. a young Laurel Holloman (pre-The L Word). Coming-of-age comedy The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls In Love tells the story of two teenagers.

SCRiTCH’s monthly WIP / scratch show for the drag, cabaret, burlesque and LGBTQIA+ spoken word community has a bright new cause: raising money for Dragily Ever After’s brave and vital work organising family-friendly drag shows amidst the ongoing culture war. SCRiTCH are collaborating with Dragily Ever After to fundraise for their events by, showcasing and for young people

Dare2's irregular all-day dragtacular returns with Drag Race UK's East London queen Scarlett Harlett, Fierce It's infamous Tiana Biscuit and, as always, your host will be Bristol’s brightest, Alyssa Van Delle. Queens Queens and Queens

What our editors say

“Tales From The Wasteland is an an improvised post-apocalyptic adventure comedy. This twisted and talented cast of wastelanders will take a single suggestion from you and craft an entire narrative show with no pre-prepared characters, story or dialogue.”
From: Tales From The Wasteland: Post-Apocalyptic Improv

“Join the UK’s premium IT consultants turned comedy duo, Foxdog Studios, as they fuse bingo, tech and robots. Play along on your (charged!) phone but in a fun way! It’s an interactive Valentines Day themed show for people who don’t want to talk to anyone.”
From: Valentines Robo Comedy Bingo - Foxdog Studios

“Many people have seen improvised comedy on the t.v. - but remember, this is not recorded and edited, but totally live, making it trickier for the actors but more exciting for the audience. So, if you like your comedy fast-paced and with a slightly unusual edge, this is definately for you.”
From: Instant Wit

“We work tirelessly to book the best most varied stand-up comedy lineups. At El Rincon we have creating a space for a very intimate, atmospheric and exciting , regular comedy evening by developing and improving the space for hosting stand-up comedy here.”
From: NOCHE DE COMEDIA

“Joe Tucker’s Uncle Eric was a beloved yet unconventional figure throughout Joe’s life. A shambolically dressed man who lived with his mother for almost eighty years, he had an almost compulsive need to charm strangers with working men’s club comedy routines, and appeared to exist only for daily trips to the bookie – and yet had also amassed over five hundred of his own remarkable paintings without anyone ever realising his achievements.”
From: The Secret Painter with Joe Tucker