We are excited to announce that Showtown will be a part of this year’s Blackpool Comedy Festival.
The summer spectacular will take place between Friday 7 and Sunday 9 July 2023 and will feature a side-splitting line-up of entertainment, including headliners; Eddie Izzard, Seann Walsh and many more!
The Winter Gardens and Blackpool Comedy Station have joined forces to bring Blackpool Comedy Festival back to the resort for the first time since 2019. As part of the weekend, Showtown will host a series of activities and events designed to give residents more opportunities to experience culture on their doorstep and try new things.
Our events will be funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund* and will feature a range of free and reduced ticketed events and activities for visitors and residents to enjoy. There will be a drop-in area with storytelling, dressing up and opportunities to learn more about Blackpool’s entertainment heritage alongside timed comedy events for families and adults.
A full programme of our events is coming soon!
What's on!
The weekend will kick off with Blackpool’s very own Ryan Gleeson who will host Friday Night Laughs and Saturday Live! welcoming some of the best stand up and most celebrated comedians to the Opera House stage.
Friday Night Live will feature MC Ryan Gleeson, Jojo Sutherland, Angelos Epithemiou, Tom Stade and Eddie Izzard. Eddie is one of the most celebrated comics of her generation since the early nineties and has an equally stellar reputation as a film, television and stage actor.
Saturday Night Live! will see Scott Bennett, Nina Gilligan, Tez Illyas & Seann Walsh join Gleeson as host. Walsh is described as ‘the best observational comedian of his generation’ (The Guardian). Seann has also starred in Netflix’s Flinch, Live at the Apollo, Tonight at the London Palladium, Celebrity Juice, The Stand Up Sketch Show, Virtually Famous, 8 Out of 10 Cats, Chatty Man and Stand Up Central.
These events, join the already announced Legends Of Variety which will bring the festival to a close on Sunday 09 July 2023. Legends of Variety brings together much loved classic stars for a show filled with comedy and charm. Their experience and knowledge gained by years of honing their craft is still a joy to behold.
A full programme of events at the Blackpool Comedy Festival will be released soon – keep your eyes peeled for more information!
To book tickets for Friday Night Laughs and Saturday Night Live! visit www.wintergardensblackpool.co.uk
Get involved
Blackpool Comedy Festival: Commission
Would you like to showcase your act? Or bring something new to Blackpool?
Are you a storyteller, street performer, funny singer?
Would you like to make families laugh?
We are looking for ideas that are big and small, diverse and accessible from organisations and individuals. We want to hear from you!
Find out more and how to apply here.
Funding
*Showtown's involvement in Blackpool Comedy Festival this year has been made possible by funding from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
The UK Shared Prosperity Fund is a central pillar of the UK government’s Levelling Up agenda and provides £2.6 billion of funding for local investment by March 2025.
The Fund aims to improve pride in place and increase life chances across the UK investing in communities and place, supporting local business and people and skills.
For more information, visit http://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-shared-prosperity-fund-prospectus
