Bristol is an essential stop-off in the UK comedy circuit. The Comedy Box is probably the city’s most prolific stand up promoter, regular shows bring crowds to The Hen and Chicken, The Tobacco Factory and Colston Hall’s ‘The Lantern’. In summer The Comedy Garden in Queens Square brings a who’s who in British comedy with past guests including Stewart Lee, Marcus Brigstocke, Mark Watson and Shappi Khorsandi. The Loco Club (beneath Temple Meads train station) is home to occasional stand up nights promoted by Bristol Underground Comedy. In the city centre alongside the headliners found at Colston Hall and Bristol Hippodrome, Riproar Comedy host stand-up every Friday and Saturday evening.
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Our recent comedy recommendations
Come see Ramallah on the big screen! Thank You For Banking is Laila Abbas’ intimate and darkly humorous family drama, where two sisters unite against patriarchal inheritance laws to reclaim money from their beloved father. A stark reminder that, in amongst the horrors of war, Palestinian women must always fight a battle on several fronts.
A screening of this blackly comic West Bank film followed by a guided discussion
Sell out warning! Riot Act have really outdone themselves here, striking a big nugget of UK comedy gold with the ever-irreverent, ever-inebriated icon Dylan Moran. Mr Bernard Black’ll have you crawling out The Mount Without in stitches, plus there’s more surreal hijinx from boardroom vaudeville mime Enrico Touché and 'Poet Laureate of the Afters' herself Eliza Fiver.
RIOT ACT- Bristol's madcap cabaret clubnight- presents the very best in comedy, cabaret, punk poetry and Bristol sounds powered by the people, for the people.
A powerful testament to the sustaining power of laughter and human connection in the most harrowing of times, this intimate documentary follows the UK-Palestinian theatre collective carving out space for sharp, life-affirming stand-up against the backdrop of occupation. Screening alongside a Q&A and workshop with rising producer Charlotte Knowles.
Screening of Palestine Comedy Club's critically acclaimed 2025 documentary film, followed by a Q&A with producer Charlotte Knowles
2 x brutally transgressive ‘96 throwbacks from Heavy Pictures! Freeway catapults Reese Witherspoon’s streetwise Red Riding Hood into a world of gang violence, alongside Kiefer Sutherland’s grimly gleeful turn as the Big Bad Wolf. Plus, Cronenberg twists Ballard’s tale of car-crash fetishism into a chilling exploration of eroticized technophilia. Worth it just for the James Spader x Rosanna Arquette leg love scene on the Megascreen...
20|03|26 - Doors 5pm. Celebrating 30 years of 2 cult classics at the Bristol Megascreen
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What our editors say
“"What a funny night! First time going to a comedy show, found myself in the front row put on the spot by the MC! Definitely will be back, loved every minute of it!" - Izabella, Google Local Guide reviewer”
From: Olga Koch: Fat Tom Cruise
“BAFTA-winning comedian Tom Davis returns to the stage with a brand new stand up tour packed with laugh-out-loud takes on life’s chaos. Known for Murder in Successville, King Gary, and his hit podcast Wolf and Owl with Romesh Ranganathan, Tom brings his unmistakable charm and sharp wit to this no-holds-barred live show. Big laughs, big heart, big lad — this is comedy at full throttle.”
From: Tom Davis: Spudgun
“Host of the Q Radio Breakfast Show and Star of The Two Jonnies Late Night Lock In (RTE), The Blame Game (BBC), Comedy Central Live, along with hit appearances on some of the biggest comedy podcasts in the UK and Ireland. He is a frequent viral hit with over 50 million views amassed across social media.”
From: Andrew Ryan: Honest Capacity Tour 2026
“He will bring his razor-sharp wit and international style straight from London's comedy scene to Bristol and yes, he'll be performing entirely in English. Originally from Barcelona, Sergi made a name for himself in the UK, performing at world-renowned venues like The Comedy Store in London and The Comedy Cellar in New York.”
From: Sergi Polo in Bristol
“Pear Tree is a stand up comedy show about pear shaped events between Sri Lanka and Australia. It’s about family, love, homes, knives, kids and cats - spliced with a bit of geopolitics and singing. As with her last show Boundaries (now on YouTube) Sashi’s signature observations remain dedicated to taking absolutely nothing too seriously.”
From: Sashi Perera: Pear Tree