More than 100 shows in this year's event

Bath Comedy Festival is back this spring with more than 100 shows and 300 performances spread across four weeks and a range of city-centre venues.

Bigger names appear at Bath Forum, where the bill includes Dead Ringers, Paul Merton and Suki Webster, Harry Enfield and Troy Hawke. 

The Ring O Bells in Widcombe hosts a mix of newer acts – among them Madeleine Brettingham and Kev Mud – alongside more established names including Phil Nichol, Alistair Barrie, Rosie Holt and Alan Francis.

The Ring O Bells programme opens on April 1 with Terry Alderton & Friends, which forms part of Live Comedy Day, a new national celebration of live comedy organised by the Live Comedy Association and supported by BBC Radio 4.

Heats of the festival's new act competition run throughout at The Nowhere Tavern, with the grand final staged at The Old Theatre Royal. 

The Rondo Theatre hosts Jessica Fostekew and Hal Cruttenden, while the Old Theatre Royal also features Hasan Al-Habib and a series of 'Super Saturdays' from The Fez Comedy Club, with John Hegley, Sooz Kempner and Phil Kay. New addition The Jesters Comedy Club offers shows every day of the festival.

Pay-what-you-feel gigs and open mic nights are also on the programme, and the festival's bus tour, The Wine Arts Trail – which visits businesses and hidden corners of Bath with wine and entertainment at each stop – returns as a fixture.

Festival director Nick Steel said: ‘This year’s festival line-up is an impressive mixture of well-known comedy stalwarts and rising stars. It is widely recognised as a destination for comedy and a key date in the city’s annual cultural calendar. We can't do it without you, so join us as we welcome both Bath residents and visitors…and have a laugh.’

Further details of the event – which runs from March 21 to April 19 – are at bathcomedyfestival.co.uk.

Published: 2 Mar 2026