Underbelly is delighted to announce they are launching a new UK comedy festival in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, from 23rd – 26th May 2013. The Comedy Hullabaloo will be a four-day comedy feast spread across four venues: the prestigious Royal Shakespeare Company’s Courtyard Theatre, the Stratford-upon-Avon Boat Club, the beautiful Idolize Spiegeltent by the River Avon and the historic Swan’s Nest Hotel.
The Comedy Hullabaloo will feature an array of shows per day across the four venues, with top name comedians in every show alongside a selection of handpicked emerging acts.
The inaugural line up for 2013 includes Irish observational stand-up Ed Byrne. A regular on TV panel shows such as Mock the Week and Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Perrier Award-nominated Byrne is certain to be one of the festival’s highlights. Joining him will be fellow Mock The Week favourite Milton Jones - famed for delivering slews of one-liners in his signature deadpan style.
Another exciting announcement for the festival is comedian Mark Watson, known for his unusual Edinburgh shows, Radio 4 series and regular television appearances. Fellow cohort from BBC Four’s ‘We Need Answers’, Alex Horne will also be performing at The Comedy Hullabaloo, both as a solo artist as well in his musical variety troupe The Horne Section.
Internationally lauded Scottish comedian Danny Bhoy will be joining in the fun in May, alongside actor and comedian Miles Jupp, whose upper class comedic persona has won him countless fans. Additional confirmations include Roisin Conaty - who won the Best Newcomer Award at 2010’s Edinburgh Festival, politically conscious comedian Andy Zaltzman and the wise-cracking rapper Doc Brown.
Plus for those after something a bit different, there will be a handful of bespoke shows on offer. Matt Forde, former Labour-advisor turned stand-up comedian, will be bringing his acclaimed Political Party to Stratford-upon-Avon, where he will be combining topical stand-up alongside a debate with a leading politician. With previous guests including George Galloway and UKIP leader Nigel Farage, this is an unmissable show sure to ruffle a few feathers. Or for those with young ones in tow, DJ Monski Mouse will be descending on the Spiegeltent with her much loved Baby Disco: a strictly under 5’s disco featuring lashings of swing, jazz, rock, funk, latin and soul to energise and entertain both parents and children alike.
At the heart of the festival will lie the magnificent Idolize Spiegeltent and River Garden which will take pride of place on Stratford-upon-Avon’s Recreation Ground site opposite The Royal Shakespeare Theatre. The Spiegeltent will host a number of shows in the programme as well as act as the festival club after the last performances. Entry to the Spiegeltent will be ticketed but the rest of the Recreation Ground site will be free to enter and will include bars, local food concessions and plenty of seating on which to laze the bank holiday days away.
There will be 12,000 tickets on sale over the four-day Comedy Hullabaloo weekend. Tickets will be sold separately for each of the 22 shows, with prices between £10 and £25, meaning that comedy fans can cherry-pick their weekend of entertainment. Further shows and acts will be added to the programme in the coming weeks.
Tickets for The Comedy Hullabaloo will go on sale from 9am on Friday 1st March and are available via: www.comedyhullabaloo.com and www.rsc.org.uk
Rebecca Austin is Comedy Hullabaloo’s Festival Producer. Rebecca was formerly Artistic Director of Kilkenny Cat Laughs Festival, Festival Producer at Brighton Comedy Festival and Programme Manager at Assembly Edinburgh Fringe.
Ed Bartlam, director of Underbelly, said:
“We are hugely excited about Comedy Hullabaloo. The idea behind the festival is to create an all-consuming live comedy experience where audiences get to see fantastic mixed bill shows in an intimate and friendly environment and where they can see more than one show in an evening. This is about creating a real weekend festival atmosphere for acts and audiences. The support within Stratford-upon-Avon to make this happen has been amazing and we’re delighted that we’ve found such an excellent home for Comedy Hullabaloo.”
Ian Parkes, director of Stratford-upon-Avon Arts Festival said:
“We are delighted to welcome The Comedy Hullabaloo to Stratford-upon-Avon. To have a working partnership with Underbelly represents a coming of age for the Stratford-upon-Avon Arts Festival. This partnership will provide a great cultural spectacle, with some of the biggest names in comedy performing.”
Geraldine Collinge, Director of Events & Exhibitions, Royal Shakespeare Company said:
“One of Shakespeare’s great skills was his ability to write comedy so it only seems fitting that we welcome The Comedy Hullabaloo to Stratford-upon-Avon, building upon the incredibly popular Live at the RSC, we look forward to many more brilliant comics taking to our stage.” More acts will be announced over the coming weeks.
The Comedy Hullabaloo Stratford-upon-Avon Thursday 23rd – Sunday 26th May 2013
A brand new four-day comedy spectacular taking place over the late May Bank Holiday weekend
Initial line-up announced
Ed Byrne / Milton Jones / Mark Watson / Danny Bhoy / The Horne Section
Miles Jupp / Roisin Conaty / Andy Zaltzman / Matt Forde/ Alex Horne
Charlie Baker / Justin Moorhouse / Doc Brown / Sara Pascoe / Rob Rouse
James Acaster / Elis James / Lloyd Langford / Joe Lycett / Mark Olver / Rob Beckett
Carl Donnelly / Joel Dommett / Katherine Ryan / Celia Pacquola
