April Fools Barnsley Comedy Festival 2018
A full month of chuckles, giggles and belly laughs, right here in Barnsley.
Here's the full list of goings on in April's comedy festival around the Barnsley area.
APRIL FOOLS COMEDY FESTIVAL LAUNCH
Barnsley Town Centre
Wednesday 4th April
Get ready for some more top notch Comedy Fun with a mixed bill of some of the finest, funniest and delightfully excellent comedians around.
Featuring the delightful comedy nonsense of Bec Hill, musical tomfoolery by Jay Foreman and compered by one of our all-time favourites the splendidly funny Patrick Monahan.
COMEDY CLUB 4 KIDS
Barnsley Civic
Wednesday 4th April
It's a comedy club, right, but for kids. Also any adults who enjoy a swear-free hour with the international circuit's best stand-ups and sketch acts. Non-patronising. Pure awesome.
PHILL JUPITUS
Barnsley Civic
Saturday 7th April
Join Phill Jupitus for over an hour of tales, laughs and diversions. Watch in delight and/or horror as this experienced funny man drags laughs out of the chaos of his own life and the uncertain world that surrounds it.
Adult themes and situations, but delivered childishly.
ONE MAN TWO GUVNORS
Lamproom Theatre
Thursday 10th April - Saturday 14th April
‘One Man, Two Guvnors’, by Richard Bean. Based on ‘The Servant of Two Masters by Carlo Goldoni’, with songs by Grant Olding. Directed by Jonathan Cannon. This amateur production of “One Man Two Guvnors” is presented by special arrangement with SAMUEL FRENCH, LTD.
Fired from his skiffle band, Francis Henshall becomes minder to Roscoe Crabbe, a small time East End hood, now in Brighton to collect £6,000 from the dad of his fiancée. But Roscoe is really his sister Rachel posing as her own dead brother, who has been killed by her boyfriend Stanley Stubbers.
Holed up at The Cricketers Arms, the permanently ravenous Francis spots the chance of an extra meal ticket and takes a second job with one Stanley Stubbers, who is hiding from the police and waiting to be reunited with Rachel. To prevent discovery, Francis must keep his two guvnors apart.
JESSICA FOSTEKEW & AMY GLEDHILL
Annie Murrays
Wednesday 11th April
A regular host of BBC Radio's "The Comedy Club" and writer for Mock The Week and 8 Out Of 10 Cats, Jessica Fostekew comes to Barnsley with her new touring show Silence Of The Nans. A sharp storyteller, exceptional wit and delightful company, Fostekew takes us through a tale one of entrapment, torment and gelato.
Brimming with natural warmth and charm, Gledhill's stand up is a unique blend of confessional stories, intelligent observations and ridiculous, off-beat daftness.
KIRI PRITCHARD-MCLEAN & SIMON LOMAS
Jock's Cavern
Wednesday 18th April
Welsh/English comedian Kiri Pritchard-McLean has made a name for herself for fearlessly tackling subject matter from sexism in comedy to working with vulnerable children. An exceptionally talented comic performer - unabashed and earnest.
We'll also be joined by Simon Lomas. Last year's winner of Yorkshire New Comedian Of The Year, Lomas is one of the most exciting new gag writers in the country - armed with a dead pan delivery and exceptional writing Lomas delivers a flurry of exceptional one-liners to comedy nights across the country.
JOHN ROBINS: THE DARKNESS OF ROBINS
Barnsley Civic
Friday 20th April
One of the most exciting and distinctive voices in comedy reflects on love, loss and lamenting the fact he can’t break up with himself.
MORGAN & WEST: MORE MAGIC FOR KIDS!
Barnsley Civic
Saturday 21st April
A marvellous magic show full of crazy capers for the young, old, and everyone in-between! Expect the unexpected, believe the unbelievable, but do not dare miss the unmissable Morgan & West.
PHIL ELLIS & FREDDY QUINNE
Legends Bar
Thursday 26th April
Winner of the Edinburgh Awards Panel Prize for his twisted kids' show Funz And Gamez, Phil Ellis is a whirlwind of anarchic frenetic energy. An off-beat performer mixing observational and anecdotal comedy with the earnest energy of a desperate performer trying to make their life work the way they wanted.
A natural storyteller and gifted comic - Quinne always appears at home in front of an audience mixing crowd work and banter between sharply crafted anecdotes and observations.
SHAKERS
Lamproom Theatre
Thursday 26th April
Carol, Adele, Niki and Mel work in an oh-so-trendy bar that is worse than hell.
Welcome to the 80’s where every town has its cocktail bar, where everyone wants to be seen, from the check-out girls to the chinless wonders, from the luvvies to the local lads tittering at the thought of a “long slow comfortable screw”.
‘Shakers’ gives a wickedly funny glimpse of this world as seen through the eyes of the four long suffering waitresses, offering a fascinating view of the reality that lurks behind the plastic palms and the Pina Coladas.
John Godber's sparkling writing builds on the success of his earlier 'Bouncers' to create a richly absorbing yet tellingly revealing modern comedy.
STEPHEN BAILEY: CAN'T THINK STRAIGHT
The Electric Theatre, Barnsley College
Friday 27th April
Meet your new potty-mouthed best friend. As well as being a working-class, ginger, gay, northern comic, Stephen Bailey is a friendly, open brand of gossipy humour, and one of the most enjoyable acts on the UK comedy circuit today.
JEREMY HARDY: LIVE 2018
Lamproom Theatre
Friday 27th April
Off the Kerb Productions present Jeremy Hardy: Live 2018
Jeremy Hardy is in his 4th decade as a stand-up this year. That’s a more dramatic way of saying he started 33 years ago and, without a lottery win, probably has at least another 33 years to go.
In 2014, the tenth series of Jeremy Hardy Speaks to the Nation was broadcast on Radio 4. He is also well known for his appearances on The News Quiz and I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue. Indeed, Alan Bennett recently said he likes him “but he’s only on the radio”.
However, Jeremy isn’t only on the radio, his television credits include: Jack Dee’s Election Helpdesk (BBC2), QI (BBC1), Mock The Week (BBC2), Grumpy Old Men (BBC1), Back In The Day (BBC2), Not Tonight With John Sergeant (BBC2).
He is also on the road all year round and has never stopped doing live shows since 1984. He’s continuing his tour this Spring!
TOBY FOSTER'S LAST LAUGH COMEDY CLUB
Barnsley Civic
Ssaturday 28th April
The Civic supporter and Barnsley born Toby Foster (Phoenix Nights, BBC Radio Sheffield) presents a great night of laughter, hosting some of the best comedians from the UK and international circuit! Acts will be announced on The Civic website. Contains strong and explicit language.
