upfront
COMIC CAPERS IN CARDIFF
Continuing to grow from strength to strength , this year ’ s Cardiff Comedy Festival sees a whole heap of new venues , some hilarious stand-up comedy , and a dash of comedy theatre and film to add to the bargain . Rhianon Holley picks through the best of the programme .
A
host of local and international talent will take to the stage during July as part of the annual Cardiff Comedy Festival . Now in its fifth year , the festival , which continues to attract one of the best stand-up bills in the country and put Cardiff on the worldwide comedy map , sees Alan Davies headline its gala evening alongside a host of other talent from Wales and beyond . Spanning eight venues and more than 30 shows between Mon 1 and Sun 28 July brings together stand-up , comedy plays , youth comedy workshops , storytelling , competitions and much more . There are also plenty of performances in various venues across the city , providing the perfect opportunity to see some of the UK ’ s best comic talent before they head to the Edinburgh Festival . A double bill preview show at Porters brings together two of the funniest acts on the circuit ; Lucy Porter and Will Hodgson . Also performing an Edinburgh preview at the venue are two international personalities in Pat Monahan and Australia ’ s Benny Boot .
Chapter Arts Centre plays host to a number of performers including the dry wit of Romesh Ranganathan , Vikki Stone , Paul F Taylor , Jarred Christmas ( Mock The Week , 8 Out Of 10 Cats ), Stephen Carlin , and two of T4 ’ s rising stars of 2012 : Eric Lampaert and Nick Helm . They will also be joined by The Scottish Falsetto Sock Theatre Company . Described by Time Out as “ the Abbott & Costello of the sock world ,” the show brings a show of songs , sketches , socks and violence with a sci-fi theme . Lloyd Langford will also present a work-in-progress show at Gwdihw� ahead of the Edinburgh Festival . As part of the festival , Cardiff Central Library will run free comedy workshops for young people aged 14-19 , culminating in a gig to see how the new talent has progressed . For an alternative to stand-up , the Plan Café will host Natural Born Storytellers – intimate storytelling nights where famous monologues of varying themes and genres are performed . New additions to the festival include comedy film nights at the new live entertainment bar Porters , who will also host a new comedy short play from up-and-coming Welsh playwright George e Infini . One of the festival ’ s main highlights includes The Welsh Unsigned Stand-up Award ( WUSA ), which aims to give aspiring comedians the opportunity to break onto the comedy scene . The final will take place at the Glee Club on Mon 15 July which will see six contestants who have filtered through the process over the past year , compete for a variety of prizes including £ 1000 , a chance to perform at the Glee Club , an interview on Rhod Gilbert ’ s radio show and a spot performing at the festival gala finale . Alan Davies , the Jonathan Creek star and QI regular heads up one of the best stand-up bills in the country for the finale of the festival at Wales Millennium Centre on Sun 28 July . The line-up features an assortment of world-class acts including Dublin-born comedian and former San Francisco burlesque dancer Mary Bourke , along with one of the most prolific comedy influences of the modern era , Nick Revell . They ’ ll be joined by unique comedy double act Brian Damage & Krysstal with their special blend of music , deadpan comedy and silliness , and the UK ’ s foremost guitar-wielding comedian Rob Deering , along with the winner of WUSA . One of the most sought after comperes , Welshman Bennett Arron will be holding proceedings together . Since the festival began in 2009 it has played host to some of the biggest names in comedy such as Rhod Gilbert , Ardal O ’ Hanlon , Craig Campbell , Richard Herring , Omid Djalili and Russell Kane . Explaining the motivation behind the independent festival , event organiser Scott Fitzgerald says “ the aim is to create a world class event that can benefit the whole city of Cardiff .” And with so many comedy performances taking place over the course of the festival there ’ s bound to be an act to suit your comedy taste , and you may even get a glimpse of the next top comedian .
Cardiff Comedy Festival ,
Mon 1-Sun 28 July , various venues in Cardiff . Tickets : events priced separately . Info : www
. cardiffcomedy . co . uk
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