slapstick festival logo 2024

All Events

Upcoming events

Previous events

Hosted by Joe Lycett

22 April 2026,
19:30:
Hexagon, Reading

Hosted by the inimitable Joe Lycett, this stand-up comedy gala features comedy royalty Rory Bremner, Harry Enfield and Jasper Carrott

Introduced by Armando Iannucci

Sunday 8 February, 2026,
20:30:
Watershed

Slapstick 2026 concludes with a big-screen return for one of the sharpest and most prescient political comedies ever made.

Sunday 8 February 2026,
7.00pm:
St George’s Bristol

Adam and Mike interview each other, with each bringing precious objects hidden in a sack. No one knows what the other has brought. A photograph… a prop… a family relic…each object sparks a story, a memory, a confession!

Hosted by Samira Ahmed

Sunday 8 February, 2026,
17:30:
St George’s Bristol

Armando looks back at his remarkable career as a writer, director and broadcaster

With Armando Iannucci, Chris Addison and Rebecca Front

Sunday 8 February, 2026,
15:00:
St George’s Bristol

Step back into the chaotic corridors of Whitehall as creator Armando Iannucci reunites with key members of his award-winning ensemble.

With Robert Ross

Sunday 8 February,
1.30pm:
St George’s Bristol

Affectionately anarchic conversation celebrating the life and legacy of Terry Jones.

Hosted by Adam Hills

Sunday 8th February, 2026,
12:00:
St George’s Bristol

Join much-loved comedian and broadcaster Adam Hills for a witty and deeply affectionate exploration of the timeless artistry of Laurel & Hardy.

With introduction by Angie Belcher and Ulysses Angelson Farrell

Sunday 8 February, 2026,
10:00:
Watershed

A treat for families and animation fans of all ages! Bursting with humour, heart and toe-tapping music.

With Robert Ross and Chris Daniels

Sunday 8 February, 2026,
9:30:
Watershed

Special screening of Atoll K (Utopia), presented in a brand-new BFI restoration that returns Laurel & Hardy’s final feature to its original clarity and charm

With Adam Murray from Bristol Black Horror Club & Robin Ince

Saturday 7 February, 2026,
21:00:
Lantern Hall, Bristol Beacon

A deliriously inventive comedy-horror hybrid that became an international cult sensation!

With ITV West’s Alex Lovell

Saturday 7 Feburary, 2026,
18:30:
Lantern Hall, Bristol Beacon

Celebrate twenty years of Britain’s fastest-paced sitcom with its creator, writer and star — Lee Mack.

With Robin Ince

Saturday 7 Feburary, 2025,
16:30:
Lantern Hall, Bristol Beacon

A rare live discussion revisiting his groundbreaking 1980s television series Alexei Sayle’s Stuff

With Harriet Taylor and Robin Ince

Saturday 7 February, 2026,
14:00:
Watershed, Waterside 4

Gloriously camp, defiantly funny, and deeply compassionate, Jamie Babbit’s film turns religious moralism and societal constraint inside out

Featuring Andy Day

Saturday 7 February 2026,
14:00:
Lantern Hall, Bristol Beacon

Andy introduces each film and leads the audiences through a joyous, family-friendly event for all ages celebrating two timeless icons of screen comedy

With Robert Ross

Saturday 7 February,
11.30:
Lantern Hall, Bristol Beacon

Rick Wakeman gives a countdown of the funniest and most ingenious onscreen moments where music meets comedy.

Hosted by Pamela Hutchinson

Saturday 7 February, 2026,
9:30:
Watershed

A rare opportunity to experience one of Yasujirō Ozu’s most captivating early silent comedies on the big screen.

With special guest Rick Wakeman

Friday 6 February 2026,
19:30:
Beacon Hall, Bristol Beacon

Stephen Mangan, a lifelong comedy enthusiast and accomplished host, Mangan brings warmth, wit, and charm to the gala stage

Hosted Andrew Kelly

Friday 6 February, 2026,
16:00:
Watershed

Join us for a joyful celebration of one of Britain’s most beloved and influential sitcoms The Likely Lads and Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?

Introduced by Polly Rose

Friday 6 February, 2026,
14:00:
Watershed

This screening of Buster Keaton’s acclaimed family-feud romcom Our Hospitality (1923)

With Pamela Hutchinson & Lucy Porter

Friday 6 February, 2026,
12:00:
Watershed

A celebration some of these overlooked acts: from US contemporaries of Laurel & Hardy

With introduction by Pamela Hutchinson

Friday 6 February, 2026,
9:30:
Watershed

Long before Clara Bow or Louise Brooks made the flapper a global icon, screen star Olive Thomas defined the look

Hosted by Harry Hill

Thursday 5 February, 2026,
20:30:
BRISTOL MEGASCREEN (Aquarium)

Harry Hill returns to the Megascreen to present his ultimate Desert Island Stan & Ollie choice

With Harry Hill and Sean Foley

Thursday 5 February, 2026,
19:00:
BRISTOL MEGASCREEN (Aquarium)

Comedy legend Harry Hill joins writer, broadcaster Sean Foley for a hilarious cinematic trip to Harry’s very own Desert Island Stan & Ollie. Harry

With “A.J” Marriot, author of “LAUREL & HARDY – The British Tours

Thursday 5 February, 2026,
16:00:
Waterside 3

The true story behind the film “Stan & Ollie,” by the author whose book inspired the film.

With Dean Sills and Andrew Kelly

Thursday 5th February,
16:00:
Waterside 3

Join filmmaker Dean Sills in conversation with Andrew Kelly for a chat exploring the making of Laurel and Hardy’s Yorkshire Adventures.

With Lucy Porter

Thursday 5 February, 2026,
14:00:
Watershed

One of the unsung heroines of silent comedy is the much-overlooked but utterly brilliant Louise Fazenda

With Andrew Kelly

Thursday 5 February, 2026,
11:30:
Watershed

Continuing celebrating the elegance and effortless sophistication of Adolphe Menjou, one of Hollywood’s most debonair leading men.

With Andrew Kelly

Thursday 5 February, 2026,
11:30:
Watershed

Continuing our “Gentleman of the Screen” strand, Andrew Kelly introduces one of the purest expressions of the legendary “Lubitsch Touch.”

Hosted by Andrew Kelly

Thursday 5 February, 2026,
9:30:
Watershed

Menjou dazzles as sharp-tongued editor Walter Burns in Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur’s landmark newsroom satire,

Hosted by Robin Ince with Shazia Mirza and The Revd Canon Dr Simon Taylor Director of Mission and Ministry Support for the Bristol Dioces

Wednesday 4 February, 2026,
20:45:
BRISTOL MEGASCREEN (Aquarium)

25th-anniversary screening of South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut

modern times event

WE ARE CURRENTLY WORKING ON OUR 2024 – 2025 EVENTS

Check back here soon to see what’s new, or sign up to our newsletter and get the latest information on the day of release.