Bournemouth Comedy Festival to launch in October

Friday 11th August 2023, 11:25am by Jake Godfrey

The first Bournemouth Comedy Festival will run from 4th to 8th October 2023
Stars are set to include Zoe Lyons, Troy Hawke, Shelf, Tom Ward and Nathan Caton
Curated by Coastal Comedy, the festival has received financial support resulting in tickets being priced at just £8

Bournemouth will play host to a five-day comedy festival in October.

Comic Adrienne Coles has been curating Coastal Comedy nights around the Dorset area for some years, and now she is overseeing the first Bournemouth Comedy Festival.

The five day festival will run from 4th to 8th October 2023, with matinee performances for children and families as well as the evening shows.

The festival has been developed in conjunction with Bournemouth BID, a not-for-profit company which provides funding for various projects throughout the town, and has received additional funding from BCP Council as part of a government post-covid recovery grant. The result is all tickets are priced at just £8 for the evening shows, whilst kids go free with a paying adult (£2) at the family shows.

Susie O'Neill, business liaison officer for Bournemouth Town Centre BID, says: "We wanted to do something different. Times and town centres are changing, and we all need a laugh! What's brilliant is that because of the funding we've got, we're able to sell tickets for just £8. The line-ups on each night are all headliners in their own right, so it's creating quite a buzz. We hope this will be the first of a regular comedy festival for Bournemouth. Looking to next year, we hope to get more venues involved and a longer festival".

On 4th October there will be an invitation only event in which comedian Mike Gunn will train five Bournemouth business workers in stand-up before a short performance. Public shows will then follow, with other activities set to be announced closer to the time.

The show line-up is as follows: