Slapstick Festivals by Year
All Other Events

Slapstick Festival 2023
Slapstick Festival 2023 This was the 19th edition of Bristol’s very own Silent, Visual and Classic Comedy Festival. Music has been a key ingredient of every Slapstick since the festival began, and for the 19th annual edition, we gave it extra special attention. As well as live accompaniments to all our silent films, we celebrating […]

Slapstick Sunday: Feb 2023
Sunday, 19th February 2023
Seven Events at Bristol Old Vic. Featuring Michael Palin, Stephen Merchant , Stephen Mangan, Rob Brydon, Cheryl Knight, Robin Ince, Chris Grimes and more

Stranger Films, With Alasdair Beckett-King
Saturday 12th November 2022 (9pm)
The Slapstick Festival are launching a brand new event in partnership with The Room Above Theatre and BFI: Stranger Films.
Discover the crazy world of early comedy with your host Alasdair Beckett King

The Big Comedy Bash 2022
Monday 7th November 2022 (7.30pm)
Slapstick Festival’s annual comedy fundraiser is back at Reading’s Hexagon theatre. Event features, Alan Davies, Ed Byrne, Stephen K. Amos, jay Lafferty and more

Slapstick Festival 2022
Slapstick Festival 2022 For 2022 The Slapstick Festival of visual comedy announced a fantastic line up of comedy and comedy writing talent from the likes of Stephen Mangan, David Mitchell, Sally Phillips, Ronni Ancona, Richard Herring, Armando Iannucci, Arthur Smith, Lucy Porter and many more. There were also significant contributions from a number of film […]

Legacy award for the Tiswas team
The Tiswas Team receive their Legacy Awards, given in recognition of creating significant new work in the medium of silent and visual comedy

Tiswas Stars Reunite for One-Off Reunion
Tiswas Stars Reunite for One-Off Reunion Our slapstick season finished on an absolute high, with the stars of the classic children’s TV series Tiswas reuniting for an evening of fun and mayhem. Chris Tarrant, Sally James, John Gorman and Bob Carolgees, along with Spit the Dog, were among those that took to the stage on […]

Slapstick Sunday
Slapstick Sunday Our last full day of festival events began with Paddington (2014), introduced by Andy Day, and concluded with Lee Mack’s hilarious Desert Island Comedy Flicks. In between there was a moving tribute to the late great Barry Cryer hosted by his friend and long-time comic collaborator Les Dennis, with Barry’s Son Bob Cryer […]

Tiswas: The Reunion
Sat 16th April 2022
8:00pm
Join Bob Carolgees, John Gorman, Sally James and Chris Tarrant as they re-unite on stage to discuss their much-loved show Tiswas.

The Big Comedy Bash 2022
Tuesday 12th April, 8:00pm
Hosted by Al Murray, with Angela Barnes, Rory Bremner, Shazia Mirza

Trafic (1971)
Sat 2nd April 2022, 6.00pm

Playtime (1967)
Sat 2nd April 2022, 2.15pm

Mon Oncle (1958)
Sat 2nd April 2022, 11.15am

Tati Day: Pass to all 3 films
Sat 2nd April 2022, 11:15 – 20:20

Barry Cryer: A Tribute
Sun 27th March 2022
3:30pm
Barry Cryer: A Tribute

Our Dear Friend Barry Cryer
Hello everyone, As you will no doubt have heard, yesterday we learnt the news that we had lost singular comedy genius and very dear festival friend, Barry Cryer.

Screening Notes
We have screening notes for a number of our programmes, you will find them on the programme pages for the individual films.

Stop Motion Animation – A Timeless Art Form
For years animation has been one of the most impressive and entertaining disciplines in cinema.

Best of The Best – Chaplin, Keaton, Lloyd
Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, Charlie Chaplin. All three began their careers more than a century ago

The Goodies Forever
Saturday 29th January 2022
2:20pm
Robin Ince, comedian and host of infinite monkey cage, will be celebrating the work of those super chaps EVENT SOLD OUT

Barry Cryer: An Audience With A Comedy Legend
Sun 27th March 2022
3:30pm
Join for Jokes, stories and much more as Barry discusses his incredible unmatched life in comedy

Lee Mack’s Desert Island Comedy Flicks
Sun 27th March 2022
8:30pm
Lee Mack teams up with Slapstick Festival as part our Slapstick Sunday’s series of events at the Redgrave Theatre

In The Best Possible Taste! Tim Vine salutes Kenny Everett
Sun 27th March 2022
6:30pm
Tim Vine adores Kenny Everett and wants to tell the world why

BARRY CRYER: A Tribute With a Little Help from His Friends
Sun 27th March 2022
3:30pm
Barry Cryer: A Tribute

Paddington (2014): Introduced by Andy Day
Sun 27th March 2022
12:30pm

Arthur Smith: Laughs, Stories, a Song and a Poem
Sunday 30 January 2022
5.30pm
Settle down for a laughter-filled evening of off-the-wall humour with comedian, writer and broadcaster ARTHUR SMITH

Armando Iannucci: A Life in Satire
Sunday 30 January 2022
2.30pm
Armando Iannucci has been a major force in satirical TV/film comedy for more than three decades EVENT SOLD OUT

Richard Herring’s The Sunday Chat
With Jon Culshaw
Sun 30th January 2022
12.00pm
Join comedian and writer Richard Herring and guest – award-winning comedian, actor and impressionist Jon Culshaw.

Animation Fanatics
Sunday 30th January 2022
9:30am
Peter Lord (co-founder of Aardman Animations) has had a passion for early animation, both stop motion and classical drawing.

Richard Herring’s Desert Island Comedy Flicks
Sat 29th January 2022
12:30pm
Pioneer of comedy Podcasting, legendary stand-up and writer Richard Herring joins Infinite Monkey Cage co-host Robin Ince

The Real Charlie Chaplin (2021)
Saturday 29th January 2022
9.20am
We are honoured to be hosting a screening of the brand new documentary

Silent Comedy Gala 2022
Hosted by Stephen Mangan: Friday 28th January 2022
8pm EVENT SOLD OUT

Slapstick Conversations: Buster Keaton
Friday 28th January 2022
3.30pm
James Curtis, admired biographer of Preston Sturges, W.C.Fields and Spencer Tracy, gives us the richest, most comprehensive life story

The Patsy (1928)
Friday 28th January 2022
1:00pm
the iconic Marion Davies shines in one of the best of her many collaborations with director King Vidor.

W.C. Fields: Sally of the Sawdust
Friday 28th January 2022
10:00am
With an introduction from presenter Chris Serle and a personal message from Dr Harriet Fields (Fields’ granddaughter)

Slapstick Divas: Hosted by Sally Phillips and Ronni Ancona
Thursday 27th January 2022
8.30pm
Actor and comedian Sally Phillips is joined by Actor and Impressionist Ronni Ancona as they host this fascinating evening celebrating three silent comedy deities.

David Mitchell’s Top Comedy Moments
Thursday 27th January 2022
6pm EVENT SOLD OUT

Lloyd: The Kid Brother (1927)
Thursday 27th January 2022
3:00pm
Introduced by Suzanne Lloyd (Lloyd’s granddaughter) Harold Lloyd stars in one of the greatest ever silent comedies

First Women in Comedy
Thursday 27th January 2022
1:00pm
Lucy Porter and Sian Norris present a series of short films celebrating pioneering women in film comedy

An Old Gangster Molls (1927)
Thursday 27th January 2022,
10:00am
This Czechoslovakian silent comedy ‘An Old Gangster Molls’ stars Anny Ondra, who later became one of Hitchcock’s leads in ‘Blackmail’

Chaplin: The Circus (1928)
Wednesday 26th January 2022
5.20pm EVENT SOLD OUT

My Grandmother (1929)
Wednesday 26th January 2022
3:30pm
introduction from actor and early Russian cinema enthusiast Paul McGann, My Grandmother is an avant-garde gem of early filmmaking

Max Linder: Be My Wife (1921)
Wednesday 26th January 2022
1:20pm
Max Linder writes, directs and stars in the second of his three American films (Be My Wife

Silent Ozu: Days Of Youth (1929)
Wednesday 26th January 2022
10:30am
The oldest known surviving film by legendary Japanese director Yasujirô Ozu, introduction by film historian David Robinson.

Ben Model & Steve Massa Live from New York
Tuesday 25th January 2022
5.30pm
Ben Model and Steve Massa join us live from New York as they live-stream their latest discoveries in silent comedy

Slapstick Conversations: W.C.Fields
Live Online, Pre-Festival, Event: Wed Jan 19th
8.00pm

Slapstick Live Online
19th – 30th January

Sorry I Haven’t a Clue Live
47 Years Without A Clue: Featuring Graeme Garden, Tim Brooke-Taylor and Barry Cryer Talk With Rob Brydon

Slapstick Festival 2021
Slapstick Festival 2021 The year we went online! This is the year where nothing went to plan and as we were preparing for the 2021 Festival, Bristol went into the highest tier of Covid-19 restrictions. Using the £11,000 raised by a festival’s crowdfunding campaign during lockdown, we made the decision to go online. Festival Director […]

Big Comedy Bash 23rd September 2021
On Thursday, the 23rd of September, Slapstick’s BIG Comedy Bash (annual Fundraiser) took place at the Hexagon in Reading

SLAPSTICK 2021 IS LIVE!
We’re excited to announce that tickets for Slapstick 2021, possibly our best festival ever, are now on sale.

Slapstick Festival 2020
The 16th edition of Bristol’s own Slapstick Festival celebrates comedy in all its aspects

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 […]

Laurel & Hardy: Bacon Grabbers (1929) Live At Slapstick Festival With Marcus Brigstocke
In January 2019 the Slapstick gala moved to The Hippodrome for the first year ever, where it was hosted by satirist and comedian Marcus Brigstocke.

French & Saunders: Live @ Slapstick Festival Comedy Legend Awards with Mel Giedroyc
All 1,800 tickets sold out within hours and many 100s more fans were turned away when we announced in 2017 that we were re-uniting Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders live on stage for the first time in almost a decade

Laughter In Lockdown #10 – Ken Dodd at the Aardman Slapstick Comedy Awards
In 2016 Slapstick Festival welcomed Sir Ken Dodd to Bristol where he became the fourth recipient of the Aardman Slapstick Comedy Legend Award.

Laughter In Lockdown #9 – Jo Brand’s Top Comedy Picks
Laughter In Lockdown #9 – Jo Brand’s Top Comedy Picks Laughter In Lockdown #9 – Jo Brand’s Top Comedy Picks In 2018 Jo Brand made her debut at Slapstick Festival where she delighted and entertained a sold-out audience with a selection of her top comedy picks. Jo had been someone we’d wanted to bring to […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Laughter in Lockdown 4 – Harry Hill’s Top Comedy Picks
Laughter in Lockdown 4 – Harry Hill’s Top Comedy Picks Laughter in Lockdown 4 – Harry Hill’s Top Comedy Picks We’re up to week four of our laughter in lockdown series and this week we’re travelling back to 2014 for award-winning comedian Harry Hill’s Top Comedy Picks. An annual sell-out event, the format of this […]

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 […]

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 […]

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, […]

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 […]

The Goodies 50th Anniversary Poll
Those of you who are old enough, cast your minds back to the evening of the 8th of November 1970.

Slapstick Volunteer Call Out
Slapstick Festival is returning to Bristol in January with a fantastic line up of incredible stand-up, theatre and of course, silent comedy. And with the festival fast approaching, we need your help! We’re on the lookout for a lovely team of dedicated volunteers who can assist in ensuring the festival runs smoothly! There are lots […]

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. […]
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 […]

Slapstick Festival 2019
Slapstick Festival 2019 Slapstick 2019 – In Photos Here is a selection of photos from the 15th edition of Slapstick Festival taken by our regular photographers, Paul Lippiatt and David Betteridge. Check out more work by Paul and David at their websites, which can be found here (for Paul) and here (for David). More photos from Slapstick 2019 […]

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 […]

Comedians at Slapstick Festival
Comedians at Slapstick Festival Every year at Slapstick we have an incredible line-up of comedians eager to talk about their passion for early slapstick and silent comedy. This year, many of our ‘family’ of special guests are returning to talk about their early influences including Laurel & Hardy, Charlie Chaplin, Louise Brooks and Alice Howells. […]

A Celebration of Laurel & Hardy at Slapstick Festival
A Celebration of Laurel & Hardy at Slapstick Festival If you fell in love with Laurel & Hardy all over again after seeing Steve Coogan and John C Reilly’s heartwarming biopic Stan & Ollie – then we have just the thing for you! Slapstick Festival kicks off in Bristol on January 16th and this year’s […]
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 […]
The Goodies – VIP Competition
The Goodies – VIP Competition We have an amazing prize for one die-hard fan of The Goodies! Win VIP passes for The Complete Goodies at Bristol Old Vic on January 19th and meet Graeme Garden, Tim Brooke-Taylor and Bill Oddie after the show. Finally! The last, great unreleased DVD box set has seen the light […]
The Inbetweeners – VIP Competition
WIN A PAIR OF VIP TICKETS INCLUDING BACKSTAGE ACCESS! We’re giving away an amazing prize to one die-hard fan of The Inbetweeners! Join us for a special double bill at Bristol Old Vic on January 19th, featuring actor Joe Thomas AKA Simon Cooper and the show’s creators Damon Beesley and Iain Morris. Fresh off the […]

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 […]

Slapstick Festival 2018
Slapstick Festival 2018 Welcome to Slapstick 2018 To an increasingly crazy world, comedy brings solace and sanity and Bristol’s SLAPSTICK now stands as Europe’s biggest and best festival of comedy, bringing together classic screen clowning with today’s fnest living laughter-makers from British stage and television. This year is the 14th and our biggest edition yet. […]

Pordenone Diaries – Day 3
Pordenone Diaries – Day 3 So, finally, I am writing about our last day at the festival! Sorry about the delay… but here it is! Monday the 2nd of October was our final day in Pordenone and I planned to make the most of it! I’ve decided that three days at the festival is not […]

Pordenone Diaries – Day 2
Pordenone Diaries – Day 2 Sunday was our first full day at the festival. The great thing about the festival in Pordenone is that there is such a variety of screenings. If a screening isn’t to your taste, you can still have a full day of interesting viewing. A festival pass allows you to go […]

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 […]

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 […]

French and Saunders: Bop-a-dooey-oo
French and Saunders: Bop-a-dooey-oo It’s here! It’s finally here! Tomorrow, Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders will receive the Aardman Slapstick Comedy Legend Award. It’s sure to be a fabulous evening packed full of laughter and surprises. French and Saunders will be joining an illustrious group which includes June Whitfield, Barry Humphries, Barry Cryer, and Ken […]

Victoria Wood and Julie Walters
I’ve been trying to stick with the theme of female comedy duos for my blog posts up until our exciting event with Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders in June. For this post, I’ve decided to focus on the comedy partnership of Victoria Wood and Julie Walters. Sadly, Victoria Wood passed away last year. Victoria Wood […]

French & Saunders: Comedy Legends
French & Saunders:Comedy Legends For one night only, the Aardman Slapstick Awards present a unique opportunity to see comedy legends Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders in conversation. Celebrating 30 years since the launch of their award-winning TV Series French & Saunders (1987-2007) this is a rare chance to see the pair together on stage as they discuss […]

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 […]

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), […]

A summary of Slapstick 2017
A Summary of Slapstick 2017 A summary of Slapstick 2017 from Chris Daniels I feel incredibly proud! When deciding the programme for the 2017 edition of Slapstick, our thirteenth, I hoped that it would bring light and laughter to Bristol after a year that seemed doomed to be defined by the unprecedented and untimely loss […]

Slapstick Festival Day 3 – A chat with Daan van den Hurk
Slapstick Festival Day 3 – A chat with Daan van den Hurk Wow – time is flying here at the festival! We’ve just finished our morning screenings of Paths to Paradise and Master of the House. This afternoon brings us Max Linder, Keaton, and Beckett…. all leading up to our Silent Comedy Gala this evening […]

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 […]

Tommy Cooper – Intentional Bumbling
Tommy Cooper – Intentional Bumbling Things are in full swing in preparation for the festival in January! There are so many great events coming your way in 2017. One to look forward to is: Tommy Cooper – Just Like That. Barry Cryer (a regular festival guest), who was friends and wrote for Cooper, is hosting […]
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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Slapstick Festival 2017: SATURDAY
Slapstick Festival 2017: SATURDAY Sat 21 Jan 2017 Silent Comedy: A Century Ago | A Fairbanks and Chaplin Double Bill Watershed | 9.30am | Tickets: £8.00/£6.00 Join us for a taste of the ‘flickers’ from a century ago – Saturday morning pictures circa 1916. A classic silent comedy double bill featuring two of the biggest stars of the […]

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, […]

Slapstick Festival 2017
Slapstick Festival 2017 18th – 22nd January Archive: Slapstick Festival 2017 Slapstick 2017 (18-22 January) was our biggest ever festival with more events staged – and more guests attending – than at any previous edition. By all accounts, it was also our most successful festival ever – something our festival director, Chris Daniels, reflected on in a post […]

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 […]

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. […]

Granddad Defies Odds to Attend Slapstick Festival Every Year
Granddad Defies Odds to Attend Slapstick Festival Every Year Tony has only missed the 10th anniversary celebratory show, when he unfortunately suffered heart failure. He said, “It was midday and I was breathless and dizzy. I was rushed to Southmead. I was really sad to miss it, but it was very much unavoidable. But I am […]
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 […]

Slapstick Festival 2016
Slapstick Festival 2016

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 […]

Ian Lavender: Why I Love Ben Turpin
Ian Lavender: Why I Love Ben Turpin Sun 24th Jan | St. George’s | 12:40PMTickets: £5.00/£7.50/£12.00 Under 12s £6.00 Ben Turpin is one of our finest and most neglected on-screen performers. With his trademark crossed eyes and thick moustache he made scores of classic slapstick films alongside the likes of Charlie Chaplin, Mabel Normand and […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Chaplin’s the Kid: Inside Story
Chaplin’s The Kid: The Inside Story Cert: PGwith David Robinson Fri 22nd Jan | Watershed | 5:40PMTickets: £6.00/£8.00 Chaplin authority David Robinson offers fresh insights on Chaplin’s THE KID – presented later this evening with live performance of Chaplin’s own musical score. One of the world’s great comedies, at the same time achieving a […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Tim Vine: Why I Love SGT Bilko
Tim Vine: Why I Love SGT Bilko Sat 23rd Jan | St. George’s | 2:40PMTickets: £10.00/£7.50/£5.00 (plus booking fee) Award winning punster and stand up comedian Tim Vine shares his admiration and passion for Phil Silvers. In particular his longrunning sitcom, The Phil Silvers Show known fondly to most as simply ‘Bilko’. From its initial […]

Stephen Merchant’s Top Comedy Moments
SOLD OUT! Stephen Merchant’s Top Comedy Moments Sun 24th Jan | St George’s | 5:15PMTickets: £7.00/£15.00/£19.50 (plus booking fee) THIS EVENT HAS NOW SOLD OUT We are delighted to welcome Bristol-born Stephen Merchant to the Slapstick Festival as he chooses his top visual comedy clips. An accomplished stand up comedian, actor, writer and director […]

Danny Baker: Why I Love Ben Turpin
Danny Baker: Why I Love Ben Turpin Sun 24th Jan | St. George’s | 12:40PMTickets: £15.00/£7.50/£5.00 Under 12s £6.00 (plus booking fee) For over a quarter of a century Danny Baker has delighted and entertained us as one of UK’s finest and funniest radio and television presenters. Recently Danny has received well deserved praise for […]

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 […]

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 […]

Barry Cryer & Ronnie Golder: Past Masters
Barry Cryer & Ronnie Golder: Past Masters Sun 24th Jan | St. George’s | 8:00PMTickets: £15.00/£12.00/£6.00 (plus booking fee) Live music and classic comedy from this exceptional pair as they close the weekend Slapstick Celebrations. Expect comedy songs and gags galore from the well-loved duo, just back from the Edinburgh Fringe and proving they are […]

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 […]

Hooray For Harold Lloyd, Barry Cryer and Friends!
Hooray For Harold Lloyd, Barry Cryer and Friends! Sun 24th Jan | St. George’s | 2:30PMTickets: £15.00/£12.00/£6.00 (plus booking fee) Join us for a classic double bill of Lloyd’s finest onscreen comedy hosted by ‘king of the one liners’ and national treasure Barry Cryer. Harold appears in two of his finest comedy shorts ‘Now or […]

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 […]
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 […]

Slapstick Festival 2015
Slapstick Festival 2015 Festival Program

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Slapstick Festival 2014
Slapstick Festival 2014

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 […]

Slapstick Supports The Grand Appeal
Slapstick Supports The Grand Appeal Jan 2014 Slapstick is proud to be supporting The Grand Appeal by donating 10% of our proceeds from the Gromit: Silent Comedy Canine event. Wallace & Gromit’s Grand Appeal is the only charity fundraising exclusively for the Bristol Royal Hospital for Children and St Michael’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (Special […]

Slapstick Festival 2013
Slapstick Festival 2013 In Photos: When Victoria Wood Hosted The 2013 Slapstick Festival Gala Back in 2012 we were thrilled and excited when the one and only Victoria Wood agreed to host our 2013 gala. As expected she hit the ball out of the park, taking on the roll with aplomb, insight, laughs galore and, […]

Slapstick Festival 2012
Slapstick Festival 2012 Bristol’s Slapstick Festival returns for an eighth incredible year, bringing laughter and hilarity to Bristol in the dark, early days of the New Year… just when we need it the most! Slapstick Festival is returning to Bristol and it’s bigger and better than ever with seventeen unique events forming our most exciting […]

Slapstick Festival 2011
Slapstick Festival 2011

Slapstick Festival 2010
Slapstick Festival 2010 Festival Program

Slapstick Festival 2009
Slapstick Festival 2009

Slapstick Festival 2008
Slapstick Festival 2008 Taking place at Watershed, Colston Hall,Arnolfini and St George’s Bristol, Slapstick 2008 is bursting at the seams with remarkable film comedy and extraordinary talent. Paul Merton returns to host a very special Slapstick Gala event at Colston Hall, and other highlights include: special guests Peter Lord and Richard Williams hosting a celebration […]

Slapstick Festival 2007
Slapstick Festival 2007 Bristol’s Silent Comedy Festival returns for a third year. Slapstick 2007 is bigger and even funnier than before, with events held across three Bristol venues: Watershed, Arnolfini and Colston Hall. Hosted once more by Paul Merton, it features a wealth of special guests including Bonzo front man and ex-Rutle Neil Innes , […]

Slapstick Festival 2006
Slapstick Festival 2006 Bristol Silents in partnership with Watershed and Colston Hall presents a weekend of classic film comedy and laughter from the ‘big five’: Chaplin, Keaton, Lloyd and Laurel and Hardy through to ‘lost’ mini masterpieces from the era. Hosted by the inimitable Paul Merton and with this year’s special festival guest former silent […]

Slapstick Festival 2005
Slapstick Festival 2005 The 2005 Slapstick Film Festival took place on 13th-16th January and proved to be a remarkable success. Following the showcase Colston Hall event, the Evening Post hailed the festival as “the start of another great Bristolian institution.”