The Cardiff Comedy Festival returns to the city 13 July – 1 August, and the line up, which includes Ted Shiress, Carri Munn, Andrew Doyle, Miss Behave, The Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre Company and many more, has just been announced. Organisers of the festival promise it will be “broader, bolder and brassier than ever before” and the varied programme includes stand up shows, Edinburgh Festival Fringe previews, specialist events, established Cardiff nights, comedy theatre, workshops, showcases, summer schools, family friendly events, film screenings and the Welsh Unsigned Stand-Up Awards (WUSA), all happening in venues across the city including Porter’s, The Glee Club, The Other Room at Porter’s, the Wales Millennium Centre, St. David’s Hall, Gwdihw, Chapter, 10 Feet Tall and Buffalo. One of the highlights of the festival is Ted Shiress with his show ‘I Am Not Sting’ at Chapter on 15 July. Ted is a Cardiff-based comedian with just enough patience to write sharp material and not much else. Having moderate Cerebral Palsy it is clear that he is frustrated; frustrated at being regularly mistaken for someone with learning difficulties, frustrated at finding stairs wherever he goes and frustrated at finding sex nowhere he goes. Luckily for audiences, his speech impairment forces him to convert his vitriol into a series of very sharp and honed gags. Ted’s own approach to writing is, “it takes me 50% longer to get to the punchline than the average comic, therefore I have to make my material 75% more concise”. Returning to the festival is Carri Munn, who is presenting her show ‘Keep Calm Like Carri Munn’ in The Other Room at Porter’s on 19 July, with support from Charlie Smith. Carri is a Buddhist, a boozer and a Basil Brush impersonator. Just don’t make her angry. Andrew Doyle has been described by GQ magazine as “Britain’s hottest young comedian” and brings his new Edinburgh Festival Fringe preview show ‘Minimalism!’ to the festival at the Other Room at Porter’s on 20 July. In a time when we're all expected to censor ourselves and think in precisely the same way, the show is Andrew’s attempt to reclaim the idea of individuality. Nobody cares what he thinks about anything, anyway. The result is a bit of a rant. But with jokes. Andrew’s show will form one half of a double bill with Dan Mitchell and his show ‘Plate Expectations’. The award-winning Miss Behave will be gracing the festival with her presence with ‘Gameshow’, on as part of Blysh at the Wales Millennium Centre on 24 and 25 July. In a reaction to the slick and earnest high production populating the world of entertainment today, the award-winning Miss Behave presents a deliberately lo-fi, silly and audience-centric bag of fun. In a comedy act that has to be seen to be believed, The Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre Company present their show ‘Minging Detectives’ at The Other Room at Porter’s on 24 July. Starring at the Edinburgh Fringe and touring internationally since 2007, they have appeared on TV on shows from Comedy Shuffle (BBC3) to The Culture Show (BBC2) and The One Show (BBC1). Expect songs, sketches, socks and violence – as The Scotsman put it, “denier miss it." 
 On 28 July in St. David’s Hall, the ultimate comedy writing showcase The Sitcom Trials comes to Cardiff for the first time. Performers who have appeared in The Sitcom Trials over the years include Miranda Hart, the Comedy Store Players, Tony Robinson, Laura Solon, Sara Pascoe, Russell Howard and Lucy Porter, so the bar is set high. Dan Mitchell and the BoxFull of Comedy team present a night of new sitcoms and the audience vote for the winner.
 On the education side of the programme, Nicky Bligh and her comedy casting masterclass and Actorsworkshop’s Youth Theatre Summer School will be performing Matilda: The Musical, a comedy performance for 6-16 year olds, at Llanover Hall 27 - 31 July. The Cardiff Comedy Festival runs 13 July – 1 August. For a full schedule and booking information, visit www.cardiffcomedyfestival.com To keep updated on the festival, you can follow the team on Twitter @CardiffComFest and Facebook www.facebook.com/cardiffcomfest |
| The Cardiff Comedy Festival web site: www.cardiffcomedyfestival.com |
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Tuesday, June 16, 2015 |
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