Website Banner gala
Website 1920x700
The Big Comedy Bash Nov 2024
Website Banner gala
Website 1920×700
TBCB Nov 2024 Website 1920×900

Slapstick Festival

About Us

Our aim is to keep silent, visual and classic onscreen comedy alive for future generations, through raising awareness, interest and appreciation of this unique art form, developing new audiences for archive cinema.

In 2025, we proudly celebrate our 20th Anniversary! Over the past 21 editions, Slapstick Festival has sold more than 160,000+ tickets and hosted over 400 unique events, all dedicated to showcasing the finest in silent, visual, and classic comedy. Our showcase annual Silent Comedy Gala is now on sale!

Mark your calendar: the full 2025 programme (running from 12th-16th February 2025) will be unveiled on 8th October.

Don’t miss out on the excitement!

If you are interested to find out what other fabulous events we are devising, join our newsletter!

Gala Chris Daniels All Photos © David Betteridge Photography 1 uai 516x772 1

Upcoming Events

Previous Events

TBCB April 2024 Hexagon thumb
The Big Comedy Bash ’24
Monday 29th April,
20:00:
Hexagon, Reading

Join us for an unforgettable evening of laughter and stand up at The Hexagon Theatre in Reading!

The highly anticipated Big Comedy Bash returns, and this time it’s bigger and better than ever.

Robert Lindsay as Wolfie Smith thumb
Sunday 18th February,
20:30 – 22:00:
Bristol Old Vic

He is feted as one of the UK’s most versatile actors – justly praised for his performances in dramas, thrillers, biopics, musicals and Shakespeare plays on stage, film and TV

Terry Gilliam 2024 BOV Website thumb
Sunday 18th February,
18:00:
Bristol Old Vic

Film and comedy enthusiasts have long marvelled at Terry Gilliam’s artistic, inventive imagery, and his ability to craft extraordinary worlds since his early days contributing animated content to the groundbreaking Do Not Adjust Your Set (1968) and the iconic Monty Python series (1969–1974)

Adam TW
Sunday 18th February,
15:30:
Bristol Old Vic

In a rare and unique live appearance Adam Hills MBE, Aussie-born stand-up, host of the award-winning Channel 4 series THE LAST LEG

Kiki portrait thumb
Friday 16th Feb,
13:30:
Watershed

Norma Talmadge is best-remembered for silent melodramas but she was a fine comedy actor, too, as proved by this Paris-set romcom.

HUGH BONNEVILLE thumb
Friday 16th Feb. 2024,
19:30:
Lantern Hall, Bristol Beacon

DOWNTON ABBEY, THE GOLD and PADDINGTON films star Hugh Bonneville introduces a triple bill of laugh-out-loud silent comedy classics.

Read

Jaques Tati playtime website internal
On Radio Three’s Sound of Cinema Matthew Sweet discusses our festival and takes a New Year look at some of the great musical scores associated with slapstick films.
thumb festival 2024 (1)
Drum roll please as we unveil the exciting and star-studded programme for Slapstick 2024, including the long-awaited return of our cherished Gala to the venue where it all began, now renamed Bristol Beacon and looking and sounding truly glorious after its extensive refit.

Watch