People of all ages are set to enjoy two months of side-splitting entertainment with Coventry UK City of Culture’s latest line-up of comedy events in the city.
Dozens of comics and children’s acts will descend upon the Assembly Festival Garden throughout August and September to bring laughs to audiences of all ages.
Upwards of 40 acts including comics, cabaret performers and magicians will be doing their best to bring smiles and laughter to the crowds at the city’s newest performance venue, with live music and theatre adding to the wide range of entertainment.
Among the star performers will be Mock the Week and Live at the Apollo alumni Russell Kane and Loyiso Gola.
The Assembly Festival Garden is Coventry UK City of Culture’s centrepiece venue, and has been designed from the ground up in line with current Covid-19 guidelines to keep customers safe as they return to live entertainment.
Chenine Bhathena, Creative Director at the Coventry City of Culture Trust, said: “There is truly something for everyone over the next couple of months at the Assembly Festival Garden, from some of the nation’s best-loved comics to independent theatre companies and circus acts.
“The venue has been built in the heart of the city, with multiple performance spaces to accommodate a variety of acts in a location that is easily accessible via public transport.
“Tickets are priced very competitively considering the high quality of entertainment on offer, and we are urging people to book their places soon to avoid disappointment.”
Comedy line-up includes:
Cerys Bradley: Sportsperson – Friday, August 13, 17.40. Tickets from £9.
A show about playing sport, fitting in and being bad at both. It is also about being non-binary, wearing lycra and how spending your childhood in a car whilst your parents watch your brother play football - definitely doesn’t leave you with a chip on your shoulder.
Russell Kane – Saturday, August 14, 22.00. Tickets from £18.
Packing more energy than a Duracell factory on a nuclear reactor, multi-award-winning comedian, presenter, actor, author Russell Kane comes to Coventry.
Nina Gilligan – Sunday, August 29, 19.25. Tickets from £8.
Award-winning comedian Nina Gilligan has really broad shoulders but where did they come from? Join her for an invasive hour of DNA swabbing, amateur detecting, and quite a bit of stalking in pursuit of the elusive birth family.
Ivo Graham – Tuesday, August 31. Tickets from £7.
Apologetic Eton and Oxford alumnus Ivo started stand-up in 2009 at the age of 18. He has become a regular fixture in the clubs and theatres of the UK circuit, with a gauche charm and crafty, self-aware wit which has proved a hit with audiences of all ages
Tom Lucy – Thursday, September 2, 17.40. Tickets from £8.
Tom Lucy is one of the youngest comedians working professionally on the UK circuit, taking to the stage at the tender age of 16, Tom now regularly performs for the UK's top clubs and is the youngest professional comedian to play weekends at London's legendary Comedy Store.
Comedy Club 4 Kids – Saturday, September 4, 15.55. Tickets from £8.
Since 2005, the Comedy Club 4 Kids has been getting the best stand-ups and sketch acts from the international circuit to do their thing for an audience of children (aged 6+) and their families... but without the rude bits!
Juliette Burton: Redefined – Saturday, September 4, 19.25. Tickets from £10.
Juliette Burton was on tour in 2020. Then whilst on her tour, our world was Redefined, forever. Her original show, all about love, life and labels...vanished. Now she’s back to explore how we have Redefined everything.
Richard Stott: Dog – Saturday, September 4, 17.40. Tickets from £9.
What is loyalty? To a friend, a culture, a party. Does it have to be earned, is it something to be proud of? Or is a bad idea to blindly follow anyone that feeds you sausages?
Richard takes a no-fluff look at the reasons we stick to the rules and the reasons why we don’t.
Rob Beckett – Friday, September 10. Tickets £20.
During the crisis, Rob has kept himself busy with his hugely popular podcast Lockdown Parenting Hell, starred in the third series of Sky’s BAFTA-nominated Rob and Romesh Vs, as well as ITV’s Paul Sinha’s TV Showdown.
Basil Brush Family Fun Show – Saturday, September 11, 15.55. Tickets from £11.
Britain's most loveable fox takes you on a journey of laughs, storytelling and song in show for all the family.
Basil Brush Unleashed – Saturday, September 11, 19.25. Tickets from £11.
Following a totally sold-out Edinburgh Festival season, and fresh from appearances on Comic Relief (BBC 1), The Last Leg (Channel 4) and Celebrity Juice (ITV 2), Basil returns takes to the Assembly stage with a new edition of ‘Unleashed’ for 2021, in a show for the adults!
Rob Auton: The Time Show – Sunday, September 12. 19.25. Tickets from £11.
Following on from his critically acclaimed shows about talking, hair, sleep, water, faces, the sky and the colour yellow, “the Fringe’s comedian laureate” (British Comedy Guide) now turns his attention to time.
Josh Berry: Wreck Your Privilege – Monday, September 14 to Tuesday, September 15. Tickets from £12.
In this show, Josh mocks people who went to slightly more prestigious private schools than him and he’ll probably agonise about whether it's right that he's making lots of money these days during a performance he's charging you to watch.
James Campbell's The Funny World Of... – Wednesday, September 15, 17.40. Tickets from £8.
James Campbell's The Funny World Of is a stand-up comedy show for children 6+, their parents and anyone who likes comedy without rude words.
The Noise Next Door – Thursday, September 16, 19.25. Tickets from £11.
The Noise Next Door are veterans of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and have appeared on BBC 1, ITV 1, BBC 3 and BBC Radio 4. They've also appeared alongside Michael McIntyre, Katherine Ryan, Romesh Ranganathan and Harry Hill.
Simon Munnery: Alan Parker Urban Warrior Farewell Tour – Friday, September 17 to Saturday, September 18. Tickets from £11.
Multi award-winning comedian Simon Munnery reprises his notorious alter ego, the bedsit anarchist Alan Parker Urban Warrior.
Rich Hall – Friday, September 17. Tickets from £20.
Rich, winner of Perrier Award (Edinburgh Festival Fringe) and Barry Award, (Melbourne International Comedy Festival) has been described as a transatlantic messenger, lampooning each country he visits with his laser-guided observations.
Mark Thomas – Sunday, September 19, 19.25. Tickets from £13.
Mark uses his trademark style of storytelling, stand-up, subversion and really, really, well researched material to try and find out how the hell we ended up where we are.
Georgie Morrell and Jo Coffey – Thursday, September 23, 19.25. Tickets from £8.
Jo is the comedy circuit's fourth shortest comedian, at 4ft 2 tall this funny lady discusses the pressures on her to fit into a certain category. Georgie is a regular on the UK stand up circuit. Known for her own brand of gossipy humour mixed with disabled banter.
Jake Lambert – Sunday, September 26, 19.25. Tickets from £8.
Jake Lambert fell into a career as a stand up after gaining a following on Twitter under the pseudonym @LittleLostLad and deciding to put down his iPhone and pick up a microphone.
Loyiso Gola: Pop Culture – Thursday, September 30, 19.25. Tickets from £11.
Fresh off the release of his Netflix Special 'Unlearning', Loyiso Gola brings his new show 'Pop Culture' to the Festival Garden. As seen on: Netflix, Live at the Apollo, Mock the Week, 8 out of 10 Cats, and QI.
For more information and to book tickets visit coventry2021.co.uk