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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.

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Our recent comedy recommendations

This Cannes-lauded slice of cinematic enchantment offers us a window into a dreamlike retro-future Winnipeg where Farsi is the mother tongue. Littered with surreal humour and bizarre cultural artifice, Rankin’s act of “autobiographical hallucination” lands somewhere between Wes Anderson and Iranian master Abbas Kiarostami. It’s a visionary fable for a borderless world that demands to be seen. Canada's brilliant Oscar entry comes to the Cube

A whip-smart, soul-stirring International Women’s Day cabaret! Riot Act showcases a riveting array of female voices shaking up comedy and spoken word, with award-winning TV stand-up and ‘Guilty Feminist’ co-host Jessica Fostekew, trailblazing Poetic Pilgrimage founder Muneera Pilgrim, Bristol’s own “granny rapstar” Deasy Bamford + more. RIOT ACT- Bristol's searingly new Cabaret Experience- proudly presents the very best in comedy, poetry, music and everything inbetween from the south west and beyond

Boundary-obliterating contemporary theatre in the heavenly Mount Without: ‘Paradise Lost…’ is a one-man dance through the dawn of existence in a divinely comic, wildly inventive reimagining of Milton’s epic poem. Cosmic scale and precise pathos in masterful balance. Lost Dog bring their iconic, critically acclaimed staging of Milton’s epic poem Paradise Lost to Bristol to celebrate the opening of our new theatre.

New cabaret kids on the scene Riot Act come bearing a stacked selection of socially conscious comedy and spoken word. Highlights include anarcho-comedian and veteran campaigner Mark Thomas, writer and academic Edson Burton, poet-activist Lawrence Hoo – plus a dynamic DJ set from Laid Blak’s BJ Bunjy & Joe Peng to keep things moving after the words have landed. RIOT ACT is Bristol's searingly new open mic cabaret clubnight, proudly presenting the very best in Comedy, Poetry, Music and everything in between from the South West and beyond. Join us for an unforgettable night of mischief, togetherness and joy powered affordably for the people, by the people.

What our editors say

“Got a question about our venue or your tickets? Never been to a comedy show before? We’ve got a handy guide for you in The Gaffe FAQ: www.thegaffecomedyclub.com/faqs" target="_blank" >www.thegaffecomedyclub.com/faqs”
From: Sally-Anne Hayward: Work in Progress

“Marked as 'One to Watch' by the Independent, Elliot Steel (co-host of hit podcast Btec Philosophers) is a rising talent on the UK's comedy circuit. Receiving critical acclaim at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival with his shows ‘Love and Hate Speech’ in 2023 and ‘Soft Boi Core’ in 2024, you won't want to miss this brand-new work in progress show.”
From: DOUBLE BILL: Elliot Steel & Chris Macarthur-Boyd

“"What a funny night! First time going to a comedy show, found myself in the front row put on the spot by the MC! Definitely will be back, loved every minute of it!" - Izabella, Google Local Guide reviewer”
From: Eric Rushton: Work in Progress

“He hits and swerves at extreme stereotypes of cultural and social class. The masks of men as a form of personal defense against the self and the world we live in today. The consequences of boredom on the psyche are ripped open through physical labor on stage. Teetering on the fine lines between comedy and tragedy. To find the importance of self-belief. No matter where you are from, what class you are placed. There are essential needs of love ingrained in all of us. Removing the masks of ego and cultural affectations we hope to find a common ground of truth and hope.”
From: Hope Hunt and the Ascension into Lazarus

“Award-winning, comedy-killing (The Sun), former-Cadbury World-working character comedian Lorna Rose Treen is trying out a bunch of new bits. And who knows, maybe one will win the next Dave’s Joke Of The Fringe? (They probably won’t)”
From: Lorna Rose Treen + Amy Mason - double bill