Prepare for a long weekend of laughter and mirth as some of the country’s top comics return to the Brewery Arts Centre in May.
The Brewery Arts Centre’s annual comedy extravaganza, Freerange Comedy Festival, returns for a packed weekend of top-name comedians and unusual acts from around the world this year from Thursday 16 – Sunday 19 May.
Mark Watson kicks off the festival with The Infinite Show on 16 May; his brand new show inspired by the alarming state of the world his children are growing up in and his genuine desire to do something about it; all delivered in his usual joke-and-rant-a-minute style.
This is followed on 17 May by Shappi Khorsandi whose show Skittish Warrior…Confessions of a Club Comic.
Comedian, author, cultural icon and – most recently – idiot who agreed to be tortured on ‘I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here!’, Shappi Khorsandi is a woman of many parts. But live comedy is where she’s in her element, and now she sets out on tour to 39 more welcoming destinations around the UK this spring with her newest show Skittish Warrior…Confessions of a Club Comic.
This brand new hour brings sharp-tongued gags, cultural observation and whatever else is in her easily distracted mind at the time.
Throughout her comedy career Shappi has notched up numerous high profile television including; Live At The Apollo (BBC ONE), Mock The Week (BBC TWO), Channel 4’s Comedy Gala At The O2 (Channel 4, 2010 – 2016), Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow (BBC ONE), The Graham Norton Show (BBC ONE), Have I Got News For You (BBC ONE) and her own Comedy Store Special for Comedy Central. She also had the honour of being nominated at the prestigious British Comedy Awards in the Best Female Comic category up against fellow nominees Jo Brand and Sarah Millican. Shappi has also appeared as a panelist on ITV1’s Loose Women and BBC ONE’s Question Time.
In November 2017 Shappi took a hiatus from the stand-up stage and appeared in ITV’s I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here! where she was seen nightly on our TV screens sleeping in a hammock.
Shappi is also no stranger to radio and has previously hosted three series on BBC Radio 4 – two series of Shappi Talk plus the recently aired Homework. She has also made regular appearances on BBC Radio 4’s flagship shows Loose Ends, Front Row, Midweek and Today.
Shappi is a best-selling author of two warmly received books, having released A Beginners Guide to Acting English in 2009, followed by her fantastic debut novel Nina Is Not OK, published by Ebury in July 2016.
Most recently, Shappi teamed up with comedians Jenny Éclair and Natalie Haynes to write a new musical comedy called Women in Power as part of Nuffield Southampton Theatres’ latest season. Based on Greek classic The Assembly Women by Aristophanes, this ran throughout September 2018.
From 2015-2019, Shappi held the role of President of Humanists UK (previously the British Humanists Association).
The Noise Next Door take over the Malt Room on 17 May with their show Remix; as the masters of off-the-cuff comedy transform audience suggestions into ferociously funny scenes and songs.
This is followed by the first of two shows by Kendal favourite Arthur Smith: Laughs, Stories, some Songs and a Poem on 17 May, based on his recent memoir My Name is Daphne Fairfax and The Strange Truth of Kendal Mint Cake on 18 May, a promenade performance around the town uncovering the shocking and hilarious truth about the legendary confection.
Saturday’s action-packed line-up includes the return of Comedy Club 4 Kids in the afternoon; all the best from stand-up comedians but without the rude bits! This is followed by Mother’s Ruin: A Cabaret About Gin, which explores the history of gin through stories and songs with two of Australia’s rising cabaret stars and featuring songs from the likes of Amy Winehouse and Nina Simone.
Justin Moorhouse (Phoenix Nights) rounds off Saturday night with Northern Joker, his show about being a straight, white, male comedian when it is currently the least cool thing in the world to be.
The weekend is brought to a close by CSI: Crime Scene Improvisation on Sunday 19 May. This Edinburgh Fringe sell-out sensation will solve an outlandish murder which is invented by the audience; no-one knows who the killer is, not even the cast!
Tickets for all Freerange Comedy Festival events are on sale now via the Brewery Arts Centre Box Office in person, by phone on 01539 725133 or securely online at breweryarts.co.uk.
