Slapstick Festivals by Year

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Big comedy night20 2

Fundraisers Archive

Please support Slapstick’s Big Comedy Night In and help save Slapstick 2021! We are delighted to announce that a stellar line-up of the UK’s best-known comedians and entertainers will take part in an online comedy show on Sunday 27 September (7.30 pm start) as part of efforts to stave off the financial crisis facing Slapstick Festival … Read more

Laughter In Lockdown #8 – Lee Mack hosts Laurel & Hardy’s Liberty (1929)

Laughter In Lockdown #8 – Lee Mack hosts Laurel & Hardy’s Liberty (1929)

Laughter In Lockdown #8 – Lee Mack hosts Laurel & Hardy’s Liberty (1929) Laughter In Lockdown #8 – Lee Mack hosts Laurel & Hardy’s Liberty (1929) Back in January 2018 stand up comedian and writer Lee Mack joined us at Colston Hall to present his “Laurel and Hardy Classics” – a unique evening of hilarious … Read more

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Laughter In Lockdown #7 – Tim Vine’s Top Comedy Picks with Richard Herring

Laughter In Lockdown #7 – Tim Vine’s Top Comedy Picks with Richard Herring Laughter In Lockdown #7 – Tim Vine’s Top Comedy Picks with Richard Herring Just over a year ago, in January 2019, stand up legend and master of the one-liner Tim Vine joined fellow comedian Richard Herring on stage at Bristol Old Vic … Read more

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Laughter In Lockdown #6 – Remembering the comedy genius of Victoria Wood

Laughter In Lockdown #6 – Remembering the comedy genius of Victoria Wood Laughter In Lockdown #6 – Remembering the comedy genius of Victoria Wood On 20 April 2016, the world lost the extraordinarily talented and exceptionally funny comedian, actress, singer, composer, screenwriter, producer and director Victoria Wood. As a regular guest at the festival (which … Read more

Laughter in Lockdown 5 – The Goodies 50th Anniversary LIVE with Robin Ince

Laughter in Lockdown 5 – The Goodies 50th Anniversary LIVE with Robin Ince

Laughter in Lockdown 5 – The Goodies 50th Anniversary LIVE with Robin Ince Laughter in Lockdown 5 – The Goodies 50th Anniversary LIVE with Robin Ince Back in January, The Goodies gathered together on a Slapstick stage for what ultimately proved to be the last time as a trio, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their … Read more

laughter in lockdown

Laughter in Lockdown 3 – I’m Sorry I’ll Read That Again… Again!

Laughter in Lockdown 3 – I’m Sorry I’ll Read That Again… Again! Laughter in Lockdown 3 – I’m Sorry I’ll Read That Again… Again! Our third exclusive Laughter in Lockdown stream is the closing event of Slapstick 2020 – ‘I’m Sorry I’ll Read That Again… Again!’ A show with added poignancy as it featured the … Read more

laughter in lockdown

Laughter in Lockdown 2 – John Cleese, Rory Bremner and Friends hosted by Tim Vine

Laughter in Lockdown 2 – John Cleese, Rory Bremner and Friends hosted by Tim Vine Laughter in Lockdown 2 – John Cleese, Rory Bremner and Friends hosted by Tim Vine For our second Laughter in Lockdown stream (see details about Laughter in Lockdown 1 here), we’ve selected a comedy fundraiser from Autumn of 2016 which … Read more

Main Image 2021 twitter cover

SLAPSTICK LIVE ONLINE

SLAPSTICK LIVE ONLINE 1-7 March 2021 Chaplin famously said, “A day without laughter is a day wasted”. Well, I’m not too sure about that, but I do know that laughter is a great way to help us forget about our troubles, and in these unprecedented times who wouldn’t want that? Working closely with our board, … Read more

laughter in lockdown

Laughter In Lockdown – Slapstick To Release One-Off Gems From Its Archives

Laughter In Lockdown – Slapstick To Release One-Off Gems From Its Archives Laughter In Lockdown – Slapstick To Release One-Off Gems From Its Archives In recognition of the unique circumstances we find ourselves in at the moment with the ongoing C-19 pandemic, Slapstick have taken the decision to try to make a small difference in … Read more

slapstick gala 2019

Slapstick Sunday At Bristol Hippodrome – In Photos

Slapstick Sunday At Bristol Hippodrome Here are a selection of photos from the 2019 Slapstick Festival gala day on Sunday 10th Feb which featured a matinee performance by Andy Day from CBeebies and our Silent Comedy Gala which featured Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times. All the photos were taken by our regular photographers, Paul Lippiatt and David Betteridge. … Read more

For A Few Days Only – 2 for 1 on Slapstick Festival Tickets!

FOR A FEW DAYS ONLY – 2 FOR 1 ON SLAPSTICK FESTIVAL TICKETS! Join us for a very special HD screening of Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times accompanied by a 40-piece orchestra at Bristol Hippodrome on Sunday, February 10th. Hosted by Marcus Brigstocke, this year’s Silent Comedy Gala will also feature shorts from Laurel & Hardy and Buster … Read more

Silent Comedy Spectacular with Barry Humphries at the London Palladium

Silent Comedy Spectacular with Barry Humphries at the London Palladium

Silent Comedy Spectacular with Barry Humphries at the London Palladium Step inside the iconic London Palladium to be enthralled and entertained by your all-time favourite big-screen comedy stars from yesteryear, accompanied by a live orchestra. A trio of silent comedies from comedy giants Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin and Laurel & Hardy, will be presented by … Read more

24hr Flash Sale – Slapstick Festival 2 for 1 Tickets

Bristol’s Slapstick Festival kicks takes place from January 16th to January 19th with a packed programme of events celebrating silent comedy. This year’s line-up features Richard Herring, Marcus Brigstocke, The Goodies, Tim Vine, Sally Phillips, Joe Thomas, Colin Sell, Tony Slattery and many more! For 24hrs only, on Thursday January 17th – you can buy … Read more

Gala 2018 colstonhall

Young Slapstick Reviewers

Young Slapstick Reviewers Six young people attended a fantastic Young Slapstick reviewing workshop with the brilliant Lynn Barlow and then wrote reviews of the Slapstick Gala. Huge thanks to Lynn Barlow for teaching the reviewing workshop, to Cathy Poole for facilitating it, and to all our amazing Young Slapstick reviewers! Slapstick Silent Comedy Gala: Review If you’re not familiar with Bristol’s annual comedy celebration … Read more

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Pordenone Diaries – Day 1

Pordenone Diaries – Day 1 Some of the Slapstick team have just returned from an amazing weekend in Italy and Le Giornate Del Cinema Muto, which is currently running there until Saturday. For those that don’t know, this is an international festival of silent film held annually in Pordenone, Italy. We spent the weekend immersed … Read more

bootcake

The Boot Cake

The Boot Cake One of the tasks that I help with in the festival office is organising and cataloguing the festival’s very large film collection. Most of this involves just inputting the titles into a database, but occasionally, I do have to investigate the title a bit more. It’s always an interesting task, and I … Read more

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In Photos: Slapstick 2017

N PHOTOS: SLAPSTICK 2017 In Photos: Slapstick 2017 Above are a series of photos taken during Slapstick 2017, which ran between 25th – 29th January 2017. All events took place either at Colston Hall, Watershed, Bristol Old Vic or Arnolfini. All images were taken by one of our official festival photographers; Paul Lippiatt, David Betteridge and David … Read more

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Field Trip

Field Trip Two weeks ago, I spent a few days in Berlin. They were very rainy days… but I did get to do quite a bit of sightseeing. I always try to seek out interesting places to visit when I am new to a city. One of the highlights of Berlin (at least for me), … Read more

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An Epic Day

An Epic Day I spent Tuesday watching the epic of all epics – Napoleon. Bristol cinemagoers have two days left to go experience this film at the Watershed. Go, go, go! Do not let the five and a half hour running time throw you off! (I’m sure you’ve binge-watched a series in a day… or … Read more

2017 Festival Information

To buy tickets for individual events at Slapstick Festival 2017 please click on the event ‘Book now’ button or call / visit the venue box office. For passes please contact Colston Hall Box Office. N.B. Please note Seven Years Bad Luck and When Keaton Met Beckett tickets will be sold through Colston Hall Box Office … Read more

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2017: Wednesday

Wednesday 18th January Wed 18 Jan 2017 NOTFILM (2015) Watershed | 11.30am | Tickets: £8.00/£6.00dir. Ross Lipman | US | 130mins NOTFILM is a documentary about the embattled collaboration between Nobel Prize-winning playwright Samuel Beckett and silent-era genius Buster Keaton as they filmed Beckett’s only on-screen work. During the restoration of FILM (1965), NOTFILM director Ross Lipman discovered its long-lost prologue … Read more

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Slapstick Festival 2017: SUNDAY

Sun 22 Jan 2017 Accidentally Preserved: Surviving Slapstick on 16mm Watershed | 9.30am | Tickets: £8.00/£6.00 Slapstick comedy shorts were excellent fodder for home movie companies of the 1920s and 1930s. Kodascope and Pathéscope rented or sold safety film prints for people to watch in their homes, not realising that decades later they would out-survive the … Read more

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Slapstick Festival 2017: FRIDAY

Slapstick Festival 2017: FRIDAY Fri 20 Jan 2017 Raymond Griffith: The Silk Hat Comedian Paths to Paradise (1925)Watershed | 9.30am | Tickets: £8.00/£6.00dir. Clarence Badger | US | 60mins Oscar-winning director, historian and silent film champion Kevin Brownlow introduces a rare Raymond Griffith feature, Paths to Paradise, from his personal collection and champions this unsung comic who, … Read more

Ken Dodd Award Page

Ken Dodd Award Page

KEN DODD AWARD Slapstick and Aardman were honoured to give the “Comedy Legend Award” to Ken Dodd. The award celebrates the life and comic achievements of comedians alive today that have contributed significantly to the world of comedy. A fantastic night was had by all as Ken regaled the audience with his tales of his … Read more

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Silent Comedy Gala 2017

Silent Comedy Gala 2017 featuring Harold Lloyd’s classic comedy THE FRESHMAN (1925) with live orchestra Fri 20 Jan 2017 | Colston Hall | 7:30PMTickets: £10.00/£25.00/£27.00 including fees Our annual comedy celebration returns for a lucky thirteenth edition – a unique celebration of the best onscreen classic silent comedy, live music and guest appearances by living legends of British comedy. … Read more

Slap Up Feast of Fun

We want to say a huge thank you to everyone who came to Feast of Fun last night! It was the comedy event of a life-time as incredible guests from the world of comedy and music came together to help raise funds for Slapstick Festival. From political jokes and Kermit the frog to bin banging … Read more

Michael Crawford: Visual Comedy Legend

Michael Crawford: Visual Comedy Legend

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Michael Crawford: Visual Comedy Legend Sun 23rd October | St. George’s | 1:00PM Tickets: £8.00/£16.00/£22.00  (plus booking fee) As the accident-prone yet loveable Frank Spencer in BBC TV’s classic comedy Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em (1973-78), Michael Crawford captivated 16 million viewers a week and turned “Ooh, Betty” into a national catchphrase. The role also earned … Read more

Jollywood

Jollywood!

JollyWood! The Golden Age of Mancunian films Cert: PGPerformer Mike Livesley (Sir Henry at Rawlinson End/Bonzo Dog-Doo-Dah Band) Thur 21st Jan | Watershed | 4:00PMTickets: £6.00/£8.00 A whistle-stop charabang ride through the almost mythical world of Mancunian Film studio known affectionately as ‘Jollywood’. In 1932 a meeting took place between film distributors James Blakeley, his … Read more

Double Deckers

Here Come The Double Deckers!

Here Come the Double Deckers: Re-united! Cert:U UPDATE! See below. Sun 24th Jan | Watershed | 11:10AMTickets: £6.00/£8.00 ‘Come on board’ for the ride of your life and meet members of the original cast of The Double Deckers. Meet Debbie Russ (Tiger) and Dr Gillian Bush-Bailey (Billie) as they discuss the phenomenal success of the slapstick … Read more

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Rediscovered and Restored

Rediscovered and Restored! Cert: PGwith Serge Bromberg Wed 20th Jan | Watershed | 8:30PMTickets: £6.50/£9.00  The days of watching old flickering images from faded silent film prints are almost gone. In their place comes the glorious parade of meticulously restored prints from the world’s finest film archives. Witness the talents of one of Europe’s finest … Read more

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Mack Sennett: King Of Comedy

Mack Sennett: King Of Comedy Cert: Uwith David Robinson Fri 22nd Jan | Watershed | 11:30AMTickets: £6.00/£8.00 David Robinson* film critic, author and Chaplin’s official biographer will be celebrating the mastermind of early slapstick comedy, the actor and producer, Mack Sennett. David will take you on a journey through his best comedy shorts from the … Read more

chicago

SPECIAL EVENT: Chicago (1927)

THURSDAY NIGHT SPECIAL EVENT Chicago (1927) with Denise Coffey Cert:PGWith live accompaniment by The European Silent Screen VirtuosiCecil B DeMIlle US Thur 21st Jan | Arnolfini | 8:00PMTickets: £7.50/£10.50 Starring Phyllis Haver in an understated comic appearance, this is the original version of the subsequent global musical and Hollywood film Chicago. Based on a true … Read more

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Way Out West (1937)

Laurel & Hardy: Way Out West (1937) Cert: U introduced by Bill Oddie UPDATE – Programme Change…See Below!  Sunday Morning Slapstick With Bill Oddie: Laurel & Hardy Sun 24th Jan | Watershed | 9:15AMTickets: £6.00/£8.00 Like most Slapstick comedy, best laid plans do sometimes go awry. Due to unforeseen circumstances relating to rights clearances, please … Read more

Bill Oddies Sat Banana

Bill Oddie’s Saturday Banana

Bill Oddie’s Saturday Banana Cert:U Sat 23rd Jan | Watershed | 11:15AMTickets: £6.00/£8.00 Bill Oddie introduces highlights and extracts from popular Slapstick children’s television programmes from the 1960s and early 70s. Bill hosted the popular children’s TV programme Saturday Banana in the late seventies whilst being one third of comedy legend trio The Goodies. Here … Read more

wildandwooly

Wild and Woolly (1917)

Way Out West: Douglas FairbanksWild and Woolly (1917) Cert: PGDir John Emerson US Fri 22nd Jan | Watershed | 3:30PMTickets: £6.00/£8.00 Starring the King of Hollywood, Douglas Fairbanks, Wild and Woolly is one of the best action packed comedy Westerns of the silent era. Jeff is a rich Easterner who always wanted to live in … Read more

homejames

Home James (1928)

Laura La Plante: Home James (1928)With Kevin BrownlowDir William Beaudine US Fri 22nd Jan | Watershed | 09:30AMTickets: £6.00/£8.00 “It got bad reviews at the time but old films often mature on the shelf like fine wine. When I finally saw this picture, 70 years after it was made, I thought it hilarious. Laura la … Read more

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The Awful Truth (1937)

SOLD OUT Cary Grant:  The Awful Truth (1937) Cert: PGintroduced by Lucy PorterDir: Leo McCarey US Thur 21st Jan | Watershed | 5:50PMTickets: £6.00/£8.00 THIS EVENT HAS NOW SOLD OUT. Bristol’s legendary Cary Grant teams with screwball comedy’s most underrated actress, Irene Dunne, in the film that broke him as a romantic lead. Named as … Read more

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Silent Comedy Westerns

Silent Comedy Westerns Cert: PGWith Kevin Brownlow Thur 21st Jan | Watershed | 2:00PMTickets: £6.00/£8.00 Oscar winning director and film historian Kevin Brownlow shares some of his favourite and lesser known Western comedy shorts. With impersonations of famous Western stars, and gags that mock the best cliché’s of the genre, Kevin will take us on … Read more

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Matt Lucas’ Banana Skin

Matt Lucas’ Banana SkinSlapstick Pre-Festival Launch Event Fri 4 Dec | St George’s | 8:00PMTickets: £19.50/£15.00/£7.00 (plus booking fee) Matt is one of the UK’s best loved comic actors. From Shooting Stars to Come Fly with Me via the extraordinary global success of Little Britain, Matt’s body of work is full of visual comedy and … Read more

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Passionate About Buster

Passionate About BusterWith Ian Lavender and Robin Ince UPDATE: Please see below. Sat 23rd Jan | St. George’s | 8:00PMTickets: £19.50/£15.00/£7.00 (plus booking fee) As mutual admirers of the great ‘stone-face’ Ian Lavender and *Robin Ince will delight the audience telling us how they’ve been inspired by Keaton’s stunt work and comedy. This will be followed by a superb double … Read more

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Marcus Meets the Goodies

Marcus Meets the Goodies Sat 23rd Jan | St. George’s | 5:00PMTickets: £15.00/£12.00/£6.00 (plus booking fee) Satirist and comedian Marcus Brigstocke (God Collar, The Brig Society) meets the UK’s finest comedy trio reunited at Slapstick Festival for a rare public screening of their western comedy classic ‘Bun Fight at the OK Tea Rooms’ (1975) Dir … Read more

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Ken Dodd OBE: Comedy Legend

SOLD OUT! Ken Dodd OBE: Comedy Legend Mon 25th Jan | St George’s | 7:30PMTickets: £22.00/£16.00/£8.00 (plus booking fee) THIS EVENT HAD NOW SOLD OUT! We are absolutely tickled pink to be giving the fourth annual ‘Aardman Slapstick Comedy Legend Award’ to none other than comedy icon and national treasure, Ken Dodd. He is unrivalled … Read more

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It’s Shaun the Sheep!

It’s Shaun the Sheep!With the Writers/Directors in Conversation with Marcus Brigstoke. Sat 23th Jan | St. George’s | 12:30PMTickets: £10.00/£7.50/£5.00 Under 12s £6.00 (plus booking fee) Aardman’s latest movie has been a huge box office success and attracted rave reviews from all over the world. Shaun’s fame is such that the TV series is broadcast … Read more

Become a Slapsticker!

A Massive Thank You! A huge thanks to all the Slapstickers who donated to our Kickstarter campaign and helped make the 2016 Slapstick Festival. We surpassed our goal and it’s all because of you. Whether you pledged £100 or £1 or simply shared our posts – thank you for making Slapstick 2016 the best it’s going … Read more

Barry Cryer: Comedy Legend – photo gallery by Adam Johnson

Barry Cryer: Comedy Legend – photo gallery by Adam Johnson

Last Friday Slapstick Festival, in partnership with Bristol Festival of Ideas and Aardman Animations, awarded Barry Cryer OBE with the Aardman Slapstick Comedy Legend Award. In accepting it Barry became the third winner of the award, joining Barry Humphries CBE (2014) and June Whitfield CBE (2013). More information about the Aardman Slapstick Comedy Legend Award … Read more

Slapstick Silent Film Festival Comedy Gala 2016 - Charlie Chaplin The Kid

Festival Programme 2016

Silent Comedy Gala at Colston Hall Slapstick Festival’s annual celebration of silent comedy returns to Colston Hall for a 12th year, beginning with a special triple bill. Charlie Chaplin’s first feature film, THE KID (1921) is rightly considered a cinematic masterpiece. This is a UK premiere of Chaplin’s own score performed live by a 15-piece … Read more

Barry Cryer: Comedy Legend – photo gallery by Adam Johnson

Barry Cryer: Comedy Legend – photo gallery by Adam Johnson

Last Friday Slapstick Festival, in partnership with Bristol Festival of Ideas and Aardman Animations, awarded Barry Cryer OBE with the Aardman Slapstick Comedy Legend Award. In accepting it Barry became the third winner of the award, joining Barry Humphries CBE (2014) and June Whitfield CBE (2013). More information about the Aardman Slapstick Comedy Legend Award … Read more

NEVER MISS A LUBITSCH!

NEVER MISS A LUBITSCH!

NEVER MISS A LUBITSCH! The neatest recent assessment of the films of Ernst Lubitsch is that of the Chicago critic Michael Wilminton: they are, he says, “at once elegant and ribald, sophisticated and earthy, urbane and bemused, frivolous yet profound. They were directed by a man who was amused by sex rather than frightened of … Read more

The Mishaps of Musty Suffer

The Mishaps of Musty Suffer

by Steve Massa Take one hapless tramp that dreams of bathing in bathtubs of beer, suffers from tenacious hookworms, and regularly undergoes reconstructive surgery with blunt instruments but always lives totell about it in the next episode, and you have The Mishaps of Musty Suffer. Done as a comedy serial where each chapter chronicles the … Read more

June Whitfield CBE and Nick Park CBE to become Festival Patrons

June Whitfield CBE and Nick Park CBE to become Festival Patrons

June Whitfield CBE and Nick Park CBE to become Festival Patrons The Slapstick Team are thrilled to be able to announce that veterancomedy actor June Whitfield and Nick Park, the multiple Oscar-winningcreator of Wallace and Gromit, have agreed to become patrons ofSlapstick. We are delighted to be in such distinguished company andto have support from … Read more