Comedy festivals in London this summer

From Ealing to Balham, there are comedy festivals on your doorstep this summer, says Bruce Dessau
Islington-bound: Nish Kumar will be at the Argcomfest
Bruce Dessau4 July 2014

Over the past 30 years any attempt to establish a London-wide comedy festival hasn’t got off the ground. Maybe the city is too big and sprawling for fans to venue-hop as they do at the Edinburgh Festival. Maybe there is simply enough terrific comedy here already. But niche boutique festivals have definitely thrived. It does not matter where you live in London, there is a comedy party somewhere near you this summer.

If you work in the City you are lucky enough to have comedy virtually outside your office. The current City of London Festival (until July 17, colf.org) has added a major comedy strand this year, with gigs in an inflatable bowler hat in Paternoster Square. Edinburgh Festival legend Mark Watson is on tonight, while quickfire motormouth Russell Kane is there tomorrow. Once you get used to the idea that you are sitting inside a giant hat there is a relaxed, tie-loosening feel to this new venue.

The Argcomfest (July 5-6, argcomfest.com) is the ultimate concentrated comedy event, featuring 32 acts in just two days. For its third year it has moved from Camden to Islington’s Garage. The title stands for “An Actually Rather Good Comedy Festival”, a modest but accurate description of the two-day laugh-in. This is the nearest London comedy gets to being like a music festival — minus the bad weather and muddy fields.

The best option is to adopt a music festival approach and drift from show to show until something catches your eye. Pop into an act and if it is not to your liking swing back in an hour for someone else. There is a shedload of talent, including Josh Widdicombe, Josie Long and last year’s Foster’s Edinburgh Comedy Award winner, Bridget Christie. It is intense but worth the effort.

If Argcomfest is the comedy Glastonbury, the Henley Comedy Festival (July 9-13, henley-festival.co.uk) is a gagsmithery Glyndebourne. Running concurrently with gigs featuring Bryan Ferry and Burt Bacharach, the bill includes one-liner maestro Milton Jones, impressionist Alistair McGowan and, something of a scoop, Jasper Carrott, who rarely does stand-up. If comedy could ever be a black tie event this is it.

The Ealing Comedy Festival (July 11-18, ealingsummer.com) has built up a reputation over 21 years for putting on classic multi-act shows under the big top in Walpole Park. Main attractions this year include David Baddiel, mime sensation The Boy with Tape on his Face and Trevor Noah, the South African superstar who made a splash on Live at the Apollo last year with his routine about growing up under apartheid. This is Noah’s only gig in London this summer, something of a triumph for Ealing and promoter Simon Randall, whose day job is running the Headliners comedy club in Chiswick.

The Balham Comedy Festival (July 11-19, balhamcomedyfestival.com) takes place at the Bedford pub, where Banana Cabaret has been staging stand-up gigs for 30 years. Robert Newman opens proceedings with his acclaimed latest show, Robert Newman’s New Theory of Evolution. Also venturing south is cat-loving Radio 4 favourite Susan Calman, verteran angry leftie Jeremy Hardy and Tim Vine, who is previewing his latest pun-fest.

Finally, while London has not been able to sustain a city-wide festival to compare with Edinburgh, there is one festival that lasts even longer than the Fringe. This year’s four-week Camden Fringe (July 28-August 24, camdenfringe.com) takes place over 24 venues ranging from St Giles-in-the-Fields in WC2 to Moors Bar Theatre in Crouch End. Tickets are cheap and shows are short, so stick a pin in the programme and try the lucky-dip approach. How about Nathan Cassidy, who dances to the hits of Phil Collins? Or Mancunian Rhapsody, a musical about growing up Jewish in Manchester? All comedic life is here. If the Camden Fringe spreads much further they may have to take the plunge and change its name to the London Comedy Festival.

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