Sun 25 Jan

Whatever Happened To ....?
Hosted by David Wyatt
Sun 25 Jan 1100hrs  Watershed
Contrary to popular belief, very few silent comedians hit the scrapheap when sound came in. Here, silent comedy expert David Wyatt debunks this myth and shows some of the best examples of how performers carried on working after the arrival of sound. For instance, Harold Lloyd’s first talkie did better than any of his silents and Buster Keaton made a great comeback on TV. The programme will also feature a screening of Mabel Normand's last, funniest and almost forgotten 1927 short Should Men Walk Home?

Watershed Box Office (0117) 927 5100
 
At the Picture Palace a Century Ago
Sun 25 Jan  1400hrs  Arnolfini

Reviving the atmosphere and technology of early 20th century cinemas, this show is both hilarious and authentic. David Cleveland, accompanied on piano by Nigel Lister, will introduce and provide entertaining commentary on a selection of restored early 35mm comedy, drama, animation and news films, shown on an original hand-turned Gaumont Chrono silent film projector rescued from the Southwold Electric Picture Palace.
Show lasts approx 1h 30m

Arnolfini Box Office (0117) 917 2300 / 01 (phone lines are open from 9.30am - 6pm daily)
 
An Audience with Eric Sykes
Sun 25 Jan  1600hrs  Bristol Old Vic

Comedy icon, writer and actor Eric Sykes comes to Bristol’s Slapstick Festival as our special guest to discuss his extraordinary career in television and film and his association with British comedy legends including Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan and Frankie Howerd. In conversation with Graeme Garden and using extracts from three decades of the silent comedy shorts he produced for cinema and television including his masterpiece The Plank (1967), this promises to be an unmissable event and a rare chance to hear a comedy master talking about his craft.

Tickets: ranging from £20.00 to £10.00 full / half price concessions available.
To book, contact Bristol Old Vic’s Box Office on 0117 987 7877 or visit bristololdvic.org.uk

Limelight
Sun 25 Jan  2000hrs  Watershed
Dir: Charlie Chaplin  USA 1952  2hrs 25mins

To close the festival, Paul Merton has selected that rare thing at a silent comedy festival - a Chaplin talkie! A proud look at a bygone entertainment era and a bittersweet tale of an artist passing the torch to a new generation, Limelight is one of Chaplin’s most personal films. He brilliantly portrays the fading clown Calvero, who rescues a distraught ballerina (Claire Bloom) from suicide and mentors her to success. Among the film’s comedy highlights is a musical routine that’s anything but routine in the hands of legend Chaplin and stony-faced Buster Keaton, while Chaplin’s haunting score earned him his only competitive Oscar®.

Introduced by festival patron and Chaplin Biographer David Robinson.

Watershed Box Office (0117) 927 5100