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Return to the Megascreen for the ultimate Desert Island Stan & Ollie choice, a newly restored feature, with the title kept secret until the lights go down. Join our special Guest for an affectionate, insightful and laughter-filled exploration of Laurel & Hardy’s genius and one of their very best movies adored for generations. A must … Read more

Slapstick 2026 concludes with a big-screen return for one of the sharpest and most prescient political comedies ever made. A feature-length spin-off from The Thick of It, In The Loop follows ministers, spin doctors and hapless aides as a single off-hand remark spirals into an international crisis. With career-best performances from Peter Capaldi, Tom Hollander … Read more

Few writers have reshaped modern comedy quite like Armando Iannucci. From On the Hour and Alan Partridge to The Thick of It, In The Loop, Veep and The Death of Stalin, his work has defined the sharp edge of satire: fearless, inventive and profoundly human. In this special event Armando looks back at his remarkable … Read more

Step inside the chaotic corridors of Whitehall as creator Armando Iannucci reunites with cast members* to celebrate one of television’s most blisteringly funny and influential political comedies. Fifteen years on, The Thick of It still skewers spin culture, media manipulation and moral meltdown with terrifying accuracy. This in-depth conversation explores the series’ creation, unforgettable performances, … Read more

A treat for families and animation fans of all ages! From writer-director Garth Jennings (The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy) and Illumination Studios, Sing bursts with humour, heart and toe-tapping music. The story follows ever-optimistic theatre koala Buster Moon, who stages the world’s greatest singing competition to save his beloved playhouse.Featuring an all-star voice cast … Read more

Join us for a 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. Before the film, festival director Chris Daniels and comedy historian Robert Ross will discuss the fascinating production history behind Atoll K — from its troubled shoot … Read more

As Slapstick 2026 continues its exploration of comedy that challenges convention and pokes fun at society’s sacred cows, this collaboration with Switch and Queer Vision celebrates one of the most subversive satires of modern times. In But I’m a Cheerleader, Natasha Lyonne plays Megan, a wholesome all-American girl whose picture-perfect life implodes when her parents … Read more

A rare opportunity to experience one of Yasujirō Ozu’s most captivating early silent comedies on the big screen.Made just before his transition to the family dramas that would make him world-renowned, Where Now Are the Dreams of Youth? (1932) follows a carefree student who inherits his father’s business and must confront the social and emotional … Read more

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? the stand out comedy that captured a generation in transition. Starring James Bolam and Rodney Bewes as lifelong friends Bob and Terry, the series remains a masterclass in character-driven humour, … Read more

This screening of Buster Keaton’s acclaimed family-feud romcom Our Hospitality (1923) is a family affair in every sense, with three generations of Keatons on the screen and a fourth in conversation afterwards – Buster’s granddaughter Melissa Talmadge Cox, joining us live from California.Our Hospitality (1923) brings action movie thrills to a high-stakes comedy of manners, … Read more

The influence of Laurel & Hardy stretched far beyond Hollywood, inspiring countless comedy duos and imitators including a remarkable lineage of female partnerships who borrowed, reinterpreted, and sometimes subverted the boys’ brand of beautifully timed onscreen chaos. In this screening and discussion, film historian Pam Hutchinson and comedian, actor  Lucy Porter celebrate some of these … Read more

Long before Clara Bow or Louise Brooks made the flapper a global icon, screen star Olive Thomas defined the look, attitude and energy of the modern young woman on screen. The Flapper (1920) – the first film ever to use the term in its title — captures a pivotal cultural moment: the dawn of the … Read more

Our special guest host joins Robin Ince for a joyous cinematic trip to their very own Desert Island Stan & Ollie. In this special edition, they will select two of their favourite Laurel & Hardy shorts, both newly restored and screened in pristine condition — the titles to be revealed on the night. Together they’ll … Read more

A presentation by “A.J” Marriot, author of “Laurel & Hardy – The British Tours,” is a lavishly illustrated talk, complemented by rare photos and video clips of Stan and Ollie’s 1953-54 tour of Great Britain and Ireland. Every trial and tribulation the Hollywood film legends endured to try and eke out a living in their … Read more

One of the unsung heroines of silent comedy is the much-overlooked but utterly brilliant Louise Fazenda. A huge star on Mack Sennett’s studio lot, Fazenda’s zany energy, expressive face and fearless slapstick made her a standout in dozens of two-reelers and features throughout the 1910s and 20s. Her ability to balance broad farce with finely … Read more

Continuing our “Gentleman of the Screen” strand, Andrew Kelly celebrates the elegance and effortless sophistication of Adolphe Menjou, one of Hollywood’s most debonair leading men. In A Gentleman of Paris (1927), Menjou stars as a suave boulevardier whose philandering ways finally catch up with him in this stylish and witty romantic farce. Filled with sharp … Read more

In The Front Page (1931), Menjou dazzles as sharp-tongued editor Walter Burns in Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur’s landmark newsroom satire, a fast-talking comedy that laid the foundations for decades of screwball brilliance to come. Introduced by Andrew Kelly, this is a rare opportunity to see this early classic on the big screen and to … Read more

Exploring the uneasy line between humour and heresy, join Slapstick for a riotous 25th-anniversary screening of South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999), Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s outrageous, sharp-witted musical satire that took the world by storm. Presented on the giant Bristol Megascreen, this one-off celebration revisits the film that pushed boundaries, shocked censors … Read more

Continuing Slapstick’s opening-day exploration of comedy, faith and irreverence, this special double-bill presents two silent-era masterpieces that find humour and humanity in the search for redemption. In For Heaven’s Sake (1926), Harold Lloyd plays a millionaire playboy whose misadventures in evangelism spark both chaos and compassion. In The Pilgrim (1923), Charlie Chaplin’s Tramp dons the … Read more

Irreverent, subversive and gloriously funny, The Bank Dick (1940) remains one of W.C. Fields’ greatest comedies – and a perfect gateway into Slapstick’s ongoing exploration of faith, morality and rebellion in screen humour. Fields plays Egbert Sousé, a perpetually inebriated dreamer who blunders into becoming a small-town hero and then a bank guard, where his … Read more

A rare opportunity to see one of Buster Keaton’s most surprising and charming sound features, a 1934 French production co-starring the lovely Paulette Dubost. Filmed on location in Paris, Le Roi des Champs-Élysées (1934) finds Keaton in dual roles in a comic tale of mistaken identity, criminal mix-ups and backstage mayhem. Though made far from … Read more

A joyful triple bill celebrating 1928, the second year of Laurel & Hardy’s partnership and the moment when their distinctive comic rhythm, friendship and finely tuned partnership truly took shape.Slapstick audiences are in for a treat with pristine new 4K restorations of three classic silent shorts, freshly restored and rarely seen on the big screen … Read more

Slapstick 2026 opens in style with a rarely screened gem from the Jazz Age, a sparkling early performance from the ever-suave Adolphe Menjou, the actor later celebrated as Hollywood’s quintessential ‘gentleman of the screen’. Recently rediscovered, Are Parents People? (1925) is a sophisticated comedy of manners brimming with wit, charm and emotional nuance. Menjou plays … Read more

A deliriously inventive comedy-horror hybrid that became an international cult sensation! One Cut of the Dead (2017) begins as a low-budget zombie filmshoot in an abandoned warehouse until a real zombie outbreak apparently interrupts production. But nothing in this film is quite what it seems. With jaw-dropping twists, razor-sharp comic timing and a heartfelt love … Read more

Celebrate twenty years of Britain’s fastest-paced sitcom with its creator, writer and star — Lee Mack.In this exclusive anniversary event, Lee looks back at two decades of Not Going Out: from its pilot episode to record-breaking longevity as the BBC’s longest-running sitcom. Expect a lively on-stage conversation packed with wit, warmth and Lee’s trademark quickfire … Read more

Join Alexei Sayle — comedian, writer, actor and one of the true architects of British alternative comedy — for a rare live discussion revisiting his groundbreaking 1980s television series Alexei Sayle’s Stuff. In conversation with Robin Ince, Alexei reflects on the chaotic creativity behind a show that redefined British TV comedy with its fearless mix … Read more

Featuring Buster Keaton’s silent classic One Week (1920) and Aardman Animations’ Wallace & Gromit: The Wrong Trousers (1993).A cracking afternoon of live music, laughter and movie magic with much loved children’s TV star Andy Day, who returns to Slapstick to host an unforgettable family show packed with fun, film and music. He is joined live … Read more

From André Previn’s “all the right notes” to Bill Bailey’s Bach mash-ups, join musical legend Rick Wakeman for a countdown of the funniest and most ingenious onscreen moments where music meets comedy. Live piano, precious anecdotes, and Rick’s trademark storytelling as he revisits his favourite sketches, songs and symphonic silliness from Morecambe & Wise, Monty … Read more