Birmingham Comedy Festival returns from Friday 3 to Sunday 12 October 2025 with more than 90 performances featuring big-names, emerging acts and the very best comedians from the West Midlands.
Among the many highlights are appearances from Babatunde Aléshé (Oct 4, The Alexandra, Bham), Kane Brown (Oct 5, Town Hall, Bham), Australian ‘silly billys’ Aunty Donna (Oct 2-3, Alexandra, Bham), Elliot Steel (Oct 10, The Glee Club, Bham), Emmanuel Sonubi (Oct 9, The Glee Club, Bham), Geoff Norcott (Oct 4, Town Hall, Bham), Henning Wehn (Oct 11, Town Hall, Bham), and Irish comedians Chris Kent (Oct 8, The Glee Club, Bham) and Jason Byrne (Oct 10, Town Hall).
A series of special events celebrate iconic film and TV comedy. The Comic Strip Presents … (Oct 4, The Glee Club) sees Robin Ince joined by members of the seminal Comic Strip team to discuss the series that that not only launched Channel 4 and also the careers of a generation of British comedians (including Rik Mayall, Ade Edmondson and French and Saunders), while Trigger Happy TV: Live (Oct 7, Town Hall, Bham) finds creator Dom Jolly revisiting characters and sketches to mark a quarter-century of chaos.
Actors/writers Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith also bring their inventive anthology TV series Inside No.9 to the stage (Oct 7-11, Dec 2-6, The Alexandra, Bham), while the festival’s annual Laurel and Hardy film screenings return with an animal themed triple-bill (Oct 9, West Midlands Police Museum, Bham; plus Oct 4, Coventry and Oct 12, Stourbridge).
As always, local acts feature prominently. Prior to recording his show for prosperity, Gary Delaney is back on home turf for two special warm-up performances of his hugely successful touring show Gary In Punderland (Oct 6-7, Comedy Junction, Sutton Coldfield), and acclaimed Brum musical double-act Good Kids (Oct 3, Cherry Reds, Bham) reunite for a very special one-off appearance.
The always popular Birmingham Comedy Festival Free Half-Dayers (Part 1, Oct 5; Part 2, Oct 12) are also back. Heading to the (almost) neighbouring Cherry Reds and The Victoria for consecutive Sunday afternoons, acts appearing include Eric Rushton (Channel 4 Sean Lock Award), Finlay Christie (over 12 million likes on TikTok) and Jamie D’Souza (The Stand Up Sketch Show) who test out new material. Birmingham Comedy Festival Breaking Talent Award Winner 2023 Hasan Al-Habib also appears with the finished version of his debut show, Death To The West (Midlands). Having performed a work-in-progress version at a previous edition of the festival, this will be the first time Hasan’s completed show is aired in the city.
Other visitors to the Free Half-Dayers include the award-winning Rob Kemp with his inventive Beetlejuice/ Beatles mash-up, Beatlesjuice; Andy Robinson and James Cook, recording a new episode of their pop music podcast Shooby Dooby Doo Wop; Tal Davies, who presents a read-through of her work-in-progress sitcom; and improv troupe Behind The Headlines with their improvised Peaky Blinders parody.
Others visiting the 10-day event include Lily Phillips, Leicester Mercury Comedian Of The Year 2024 Eva Bindeman, Sikisa, Kyrah Gray, Marcel Lucont (with his award-winning family show), Welsh/ Spanish comic Ignacio Lopez, Jonny Awsum, Nate Kitch, Jaz Mattu, Joe Sutherland, Rachel Davies, Hannah Weetman, Richard Dadd, Low Effort Sketches, and the University of Birmingham’s Footnotes.
The whole shebang officially kicks off with the prestigious Birmingham Comedy Festival Breaking Talent Award 2025 (Oct 3, The Glee Club, Bham).
Organisers asked a popular AI platform about this year’s festival, and it replied: “Birmingham Comedy Festival is widely regarded as one of the UK’s top independent comedy festivals, and it’s especially beloved for its mix of big-name acts, rising stars, and local talent.”
Reviewing the AI response, a human spokesperson for the festival stated: “Sounds right. Couldn’t have said it better.”
Winner of five Best Festival awards, Birmingham Comedy Festival is the UK’s second longest running comedy/ arts festival, and was set up in 2001 to celebrate and elevate the city’s often unsung comedy scene. Over 12,000 people attend the independent festival every year.
For tickets and more information, see: www.bhamcomfest.co.uk
LISTINGS
Friday 3 to Sunday 12 October 2025
Birmingham Comedy Festival
Ten days of comedy featuring appearances from Inside No9, Babatunde Aléshé, Joe Lycett, Kane Brown and more, including celebrations around The Comic Strip, Tirgger Happy TV and Laurel and Hardy, the Birmingham Comedy Festival Breaking Talent Award, and 2x FREE Half-Dayers.
Various venues, Birmingham
For full listings and tickets see: bhamcomfest.co.uk
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ABOUT BIRMINGHAM COMEDY FESTIVAL
Birmingham Comedy Festival is a city-wide multi-arts festival. Established in 2001, it’s the UK’s second longest running comedy festival. A winner of multiple Best Arts Festival awards, it sees big-names performing alongside new and emerging acts, and the very best comics from the West Mids comedy scene.
Among those who’ve previously appeared at the festival are such A-listers as Peter Kay, Michael McIntrye, Joe Lycett, Lenny Henry, Alan Carr, Jack Whitehall, Sarah Millican, Joanna Lumley, The Fast Show, Sean Lock, and many others.
The annual Birmingham Comedy Festival Breaking Talent Award, launched in 2014, has given a platform for such rising West Mids comedy stars as Josh Pugh and Celya AB.
Find out more about the festival: www.bhamcomfest.co.uk