2021 Event

SLAPSTICK 2021 IS LIVE!

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Slapstick Live Online

1-7 March 2021

This year Slapstick Festival has gone online!

Highlights include:

  • Rare access to silent films starring Clara Bow, W.C. Fields, Harold Lloyd, Max Linder and Josephine Baker
  • Comedy celebrations with contemporary comedians Noel Fielding, Matt Lucas, Lucy Porter, Rob Brydon, Stuart Lee, Henning Wehn and Jessica Martin
  • Exciting guests live from America including Dr Harriet Fields and Suzanne Lloyd (granddaughters of silent screen legends W.C.Fields and Harold Lloyd), Ben Model and Steve Massa whose Silent Comedy Watch Party streams have been a huge success throughout the current pandemic and Hattie Jacques son, Robin Le Mesurier
  • A celebration of Moms Mabley who broke racial and sexual boundaries and continues to inspire comedians to this day 
  • Live Q and As and virtual hangouts

Full details about the festival, which we’re proud to run out of Bristol, a UNESCO City of Film, can be found either on the Eventive website itself or via our programme which is available to download as a pdf.

Download our program
Main Image 2021 enews

Laughter In Lockdown #10 – Ken Dodd at the Aardman Slapstick Comedy Awards

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Laughter In Lockdown #10 – Ken Dodd at the Aardman Slapstick Comedy Awards

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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.

Never one to do interviews in this way, this truly was a coup for Slapstick.

In conversation with writer and broadcaster Dr Matthew Sweet, Ken was in scintillating form on the night.

We hope you enjoy the tenth release in our Laughter in Lockdown series.

*This film is the unedited version of the whole event. The clips have all been left in – even though they are not visible – for reference only. This episode will be replaced with a shorter, edited version in July.

WATCH NOW!

Laughter In Lockdown #9 – Jo Brand’s Top Comedy Picks

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Laughter In Lockdown #9 – Jo Brand’s Top Comedy Picks

Jo-Brand-2-©-Paul-Lippiatt

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 Slapstick for some time, so when the undisputed comedy icon agreed to join us at Bristol Old Vic we couldn’t have been happier.

So settle back and enjoy Jo Brand in conversation with Robin Ince as she tells us about what makes her laugh, who her comedy  online australia heroes are and why (shock, horror) she isn’t a huge fan of slapstick comedy!

WATCH NOW!

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

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

Laurel Hardy Liberty

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 extracts, comedy, music and film devoted to the greatest comedy double act of all time.

The star of long-running BBC sitcom ‘Not Going Out’ and ‘Would I Lie to You?’ team captain had chosen a selection of his favourite Laurel & Hardy clips and shorts for a packed Colston Hall audience.

One of the many highlights of the night was a complete screening of the boys’  classic silent comedy, Liberty (1929), which also featured the world premiere of a new semi-improvised score from composer Guenter A. Buchwald performed live by the European Silent Screen Virtuosi, who also included Romano Todesco, Frank Bockius and Marc Roos.

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

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

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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 to talk about some of his favourite comedy shows and films.

The show crackled along as these two masters of quick wit and tight timing teamed up for an illuminating trip down memory lane. It also got quite poignant at times as Tim reflected on his late Dad’s influence on his comedy – and he even selected a clip of his Dad joining him on stage to tell a joke as one of his favourite comedy moments.

WATCH NOW!

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

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

Victoria Wood At Colston Hall Hosting Slapstick Festival Gala 3 1

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 included her triumphantly hosting our 2013 gala), we knew we had to celebrate her life at the following year’s festival.

So, in collaboration with Bristol Festival of Ideas and The University of Bristol, we convened a panel which included stand-up comedians Pippa Evans and Lucy Porter, along with comedy and theatre historian Louise Wingrove, to discuss her extraordinary legacy and influence. Needless to say, the show sold out in double-quick time.

The event was hosted by Andrew Kelly and is the latest Laughter In Lockdown release.

WATCH NOW!

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

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

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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 groundbreaking TV series.

Hosted by Robin Ince, the show featured a discussion on the extraordinary legacy of their award-winning TV series (1970-82) as well as a countdown of the public’s favourite episodes from the show – as decided upon by an online poll run by the festival in the lead up to the event. This winning episode (no spoilers please if you were at the show!) was screened in full at the end of the evening.

WATCH NOW!

As most of you will now know, we recently learned of the sad passing of Tim Brooke-Taylor OBE. Tim was on great form on the evening of this event, exuding his usual enthusiasm, passion, charm, energy and wit. We hope you’ll agree it serves as a fitting tribute to an undisputed comedy legend.

Laughter in Lockdown 4 – Harry Hill’s Top Comedy Picks

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Laughter in Lockdown 4 – Harry Hill’s Top Comedy Picks

Harry Hill Other

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 show features a well-known comedian choosing clips from some of their favourite on-screen TV shows or films.

For this event, Harry was on stage with I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue star and Goodie, Graeme Garden.

A rare buy liquid antibiotics insight into the comic influences of the master of surrealist humour Harry Hill!

WATCH NOW!

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

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

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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 final Slapstick performance from our dear friend Tim Brooke-Taylor.

The show’s producer and director, Barnaby Eaton-Jones, writes:

‘I’m Sorry I’ll Read That Again’ was the very funny and deliciously anarchic radio comedy sketch show from the BBC that was the precursor to ‘The Goodies’, ‘Monty Python’s Flying Circus’ and ‘I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue’. It ran from the early 1960s to the early 1970s with the regular Wonder Team of Tim Brooke-Taylor, John Cleese, David Hatch, Jo Kendall and Bill Oddie (with music by Dave Lee and The Boys), including a special anniversary reunion in 1989.

WATCH NOW!

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

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

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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 at the time we styled “A Slap Up Feast Of Fun: A Evening Of Music And Laughter”

Headlined by none other than comedy icon, writer, actor and Python John Cleese, the evening also featured a set by Rory Bremner, who had lots of material to play with bearing in mind Autumn 2016 was just months before Donald Trump was elected president of the US.  As such, this event not only provides lots of laughs but also a fascinating snapshot of an important period in history seen through the eyes of one of the world’s leading impressionists.

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The wonderful Monty Python collaborator Neil Innes, who is mainly known for his work in the Rutles and the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, opened the show with some quintessentially and intrinsically witty songs. The “music and comedy” theme was further enhanced with a set by the inimitable Ronnie Golden and Aardman Slapstick Comedy Legend and ‘I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue’ star Barry Cryer, who also might just have slipped a parrot joke or two into the proceedings buy inderal tablets (spoiler: he totally did).

Compering the evening was that king of the one-liners Tim Vine, brilliantly providing the glue that held all the other sets together.

In their review of the evening Bristol 24/7 wrote:

“All the performers are such national treasures that there was a very British family feel and innocence to the show that modern comedy somehow doesn’t evoke.”

…and concluded…

“It really was a gem of a line-up.”

 We hope you enjoy this rare chance to watch a once in a life time line up.

N.B. These recordings were made for archive purposes and as such are not recorded in ‘broadcast quality’. Where the odd word is hard to hear or the artist can’t be seen as they’re side stage, please remember that these films were never meant to be seen in public and this is a rare chance to glimpse these films thanks to the generosity of the artists involved allowing us to view them. Enjoy!

We’re releasing one video a week for the duration of lockdown – or for as long as we have events available. They will be going live on YouTube first so please subscribe to our channel over there via the button below.

SLAPSTICK LIVE ONLINE

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Main Image 2021 twitter cover

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, Slapstick decided at the end of last year to move the 2021 edition of the festival online, due to both the global and local impact of Covid. It was a hard decision – for almost two decades Slapstick Festival has welcomed people from the South West and beyond to live interactive events, discussions and films from the world of comedy, and to break with that tradition is a hard wrench. But it was one we felt was inevitable and sensible under the circumstances.

So in 2021, we will be offering an exciting online platform featuring: seven days of classic and unseen silent comedies, live comedy events, artist talks and a community connection via our Zoom ‘Hangout’ live events. And later in the year, we will also be partnering with venues across Bristol and beyond to safely host in-person events.

Since late last year, we’ve been focusing all our energies on programming a thrilling online festival – one that hopefully people will be talking about all year. And being online isn’t all bad news – we’ve realised there are many positives too!

One of those positives is that we’ll be able to work with special guests from overseas for whom time and cost have meant coming to Bristol has always been impossible. Dr Harriet Fields and Suzanne Lloyd Hayes are granddaughters of silent screen legends W.C.Fields and Harold Lloyd, and we’re excited at the prospect of hearing their insights about their forebears. Other Stateside guests include silent comedy expert Steve Massa and musician and silent comedy champion Ben Model, who will be beaming into your living rooms from New York.

Our slate of contemporary comedians this year includes our Patron and supporter Rob Brydon, who’ll be probing Graeme Garden on his comedy influences; Patron Matt Lucas joins Noel Fielding who’ll be with Robin Ince to celebrate Laurel & Hardy, and Lucy Porter and Jessica Martin who’ll be exploring the renowned “It Girl” Clara Bow in a series of special events.

Finally, don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter and follow us on social media platforms to receive the latest updates from Team Slapstick!

CHRIS DANIELS
Director Slapstick Festival

Download the 2021 program

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

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

Eric Sykes Graeme Garden and Morph

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 only way we know how – by bringing some laughter into your lives. To this end, from Thursday this week we’ll be sharing previously unreleased footage captured during a selection of the unique events we’ve staged over the past decade featuring, one show every week.

The LAUGHTER IN LOCKDOWN roll-out will start at 10am on Thursday 9 April with film from what is believed to be the last on-stage ‘in conversation’ by Eric Sykes CBE, a comedy writer and radio, film, TV and stage performer who worked with a Who’s Who of stars during his 50 years plus career.

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In it, Eric Sykes is interviewed by Slapstick board member, I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue panellist and one third of The Goodies, Graeme Garden who recalls:

“Eric Sykes was a comedy hero to me. He ploughed an idiosyncratic furrow between mainline comedy and the anarchy of his chums in the Goon Show. For much of his career he was profoundly deaf and relied on a hearing aid mounted in the frames of the heavy spectacles he wore. Later his vision failed as well, but that didn’t seem to blunt his enthusiasm or his energy. What I admired, apart from his distinctive delivery and physical https://cheapnolvadexpct.com/generic-nolvadex/ funniness, was his inventiveness and sense of mischief. And the mischief was still very much in evidence when I had the pleasure and honour of interviewing him in 2009.”

Other shows we have lined up for sharing include Harry Hill talking about his favourite comedy moments; highlights from when Sir Ken Dodd and French & Saunders received their Aardman/Slapstick Comedy Legend awards; a stand-up comedy set from John Cleese and the first stage reunion in decades of Little & Large, the double act best described as the Ant & Dec of their day and whose reminiscences now seem even more bittersweet following the death this month of Eddie Large (Hugh McGinnis).

Slapstick director Chris Daniels says:

“Like so many organisations, we’ve had to cancel a number of planned events because of Covid-19 risks, including some vital fund-raisers. But we have an archive full of funny and fascinating events staged at past festivals – all of them unique, never-to-be-repeated, one-offs shot as they happened. We’ve never released any of them before but now seems a good time to do it. Hopefully, it will give viewers some much-needed laughter in lockdown and remind them that Slapstick will be back with yet more special events just as soon as it is possible.”

Details of the first event will appear on our home page on Thursday. They will be going live on YouTube at the same time so please subscribe to our channel over there.