Slapstick Festival
About Us
Our aim is to keep silent, visual and classic onscreen comedy alive for future generations, through raising awareness, interest and appreciation of this unique art form, developing new audiences for archive cinema.
Our 2024 festival has recently ended, but we are planning some more events for later in the new year, not to mention making a start on our 2025 programme.
Our next big event is the Big Comedy Bash, featuring Robin Ince, Josh Widdicombe, Angela Barnes, Lou Sanders, Lucy Porter (see below).
If you are interested to find out what other fabulous events we are devising, join our newsletter!
Events: Forthcoming
The Big Comedy Bash ’24
Monday 29th April. (20:00, Hexagon, Reading)
With Josh Widdicombe, Angela Barnes, Lou Sanders, Lucy Porter + more
Events: Recently Ended
Celebrating the Onscreen Comedy of Robert Lindsay: The Aardman Slapstick Comedy Award
Sunday 18th Feb. 20:30 – 22:00 Bristol Old Vic Theatre)
He is feted as one of the UK’s most versatile actors – justly praised for his performances in dramas, thrillers, biopics, musicals and Shakespeare plays on stage, film and TV
The Laurel & Hardy Cabaret
Sunday 18th Feb. (19:30 Studio, Bristol Old Vic)
Lucky Dog Theatre Productions return to Slapstick with a follow-up to their internationally loved and award-winning ‘Hats Off To Laurel And Hardy’
The Dark Comic Genius of Terry Gilliam
Sunday 18th Feb. (18:00 Bristol Old Vic)
Film and comedy enthusiasts have long marvelled at Terry Gilliam’s artistic, inventive imagery, and his ability to craft extraordinary worlds since his early days contributing animated content to the groundbreaking Do Not Adjust Your Set (1968) and the iconic Monty Python series (1969–1974)
The Laugheologists
Sunday 18th Feb. (17:00 Studio, Bristol Old Vic)
Taking Mark Twain’s advice “Never let the truth stand in the way of a good story”, humourists Barnaby Eaton-Jones and Robert Hammond offer up an illustrated lecture delving into comedy’s history and introducing a hilarious cast of overlooked, and possibly spoof, comedians who never quite made it.
Adam Hills’ Desert Island Comedy Flicks
Sunday 18th Feb. (3.30pm Bristol Old Vic)
In a rare and unique live appearance Adam Hills MBE, Aussie-born stand-up, host of the award-winning Channel 4 series THE LAST LEG
Cult Figure: Kenneth Williams
Sunday 18th Feb. (14:30 Studio, Bristol Old Vic)
Actor/impressionist Colin Elmer, who has played the unique and much beloved Kenneth Williams in many touring stage productions, including of Round The Horne, brings his one-man show to Bristol
Onscreen: Brazil with Terry Gilliam
Sunday 18th Feb. (12:00 Bristol Old Vic)
Slapstick dives into political dark comedy with a screening of Python Terry Gilliam’s uproarious , Orwell-influenced, satire of bureaucracy, technology, surveillance and more in the company of its Oscar-nominated and double BAFTA-winning director.
Big Jim and The Figaro Club
Sunday 18th Feb. (9.30am Watershed)
It has been called ‘the lost great sit-com’, ‘an unsung masterpiece’, ‘a delight’ and ‘ahead of its time’ but now you can enter the world of this lamentably short-lived Made In Bristol series
Phantom of The Paradise
Saturday 17th Feb. (21:45 Lantern Hall, Bristol Beacon)
Step into a world where music, mystery, and mayhem collide in “Phantom of Paradise,” a cinematic masterpiece that transcends time and genre.
Sylvester McCoy: WHO’s Funny
Saturday 17th Feb. (19:45 Lantern Hall, Bristol Beacon)
Celebrating Sylvester McCoy, an actor probably best known now as the darkly clown-like 7th incarnation of The Doctor in the BBC TV series DOCTOR WHO, a role he has returned to several times, including in the reboot’s 2022
Harry Hill’s The Last Caveman
Saturday 17th Feb. (17:45 Lantern Hall, Bristol Beacon)
Step into the hilarious and heartwarming world of Harry Hill’s THE LAST CAVEMAN, a cinematic experience that will leave you smiling! It’s a lonely life being a caveman, especially if you believe you’re the last one on Earth.
Tim Vine: The Physical Years
Saturday 17th Feb. (16:00 The Lantern at Bristol Beacon)
Tim Vine shares video clips from his life and career where he falls over or does something physical in search of humour. As well as moments from Tim’s TV appearances this show includes previously unseen footage of Tim aged 18 being deliberately visual.
Adam Hills & Mike McCartney present: The Timeless Genius of Buster Keaton
Saturday 17th Feb. (14:00 The Lantern at Bristol Beacon)
Join us for a laugh-out loud afternoon as Mike McCartney hand picks his favourite Keaton short films, reminiscing from childhood.
Tim Vine’s FEARMOTH
Saturday 17th Feb. (11:30 The Lantern at Bristol Beacon)
This is only the second public big screen showing of FEARMOTH. Written, directed and starring Tim Vine and supported by John Archer and Mona Al-Habib Nmeir
Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)
Saturday 17th Feb. (09:45 Watershed Cinema 3)
A fun-for-all-the-family ‘relaxed screening’ of comedy horror masterpiece in which one of the USA’s most popular Slapstick comedy double acts takes delivery of new items for a horror museum only to find themselves besieged by dangers from Dracula, Frankenstein’s monster and a werewolf.
BSL interpreted events
Read
Slapstick on the BBC
On Radio Three’s Sound of Cinema Matthew Sweet discusses our festival and takes a New Year look at some of the great musical scores associated with slapstick films.
20th Slapstick Festival
WELCOME TO SLAPSTICK 2024 Drum roll please as we unveil the exciting and star-studded programme for Slapstick 2024, including the long-awaited return of our cherished Gala to the venue where it all began, now renamed Bristol Beacon and looking and sounding truly glorious after its extensive refit. As you flick through this festival guide you […]
Join the team: Personal/Executive Assistant
Join the team: Personal/Executive Assistant Slapstick Festival, a renowned celebration of silent, visual, and classic film comedy, is seeking a passionate and organised individual to fill the crucial role of Personal/Executive Assistant to the Director. This exciting opportunity offers a unique glimpse into the dynamic world of film festivals and entertainment, all while contributing to […]