Newbury Comedy Festival
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Newbury Comedy Festival is a festival of comedy which takes place every July in the West Berkshire town of Newbury.
It was launched in 2004. Committed to showcasing the best comedy talent working in the UK (and not exclusively stand-up), the comedy festival has become an annual event (2nd week of July), and the only fully-curated festival of its kind in the UK. In 2006, over 70 acts performed in 12 venues in the Berkshire market town.
The Independent described the Festival as "the premier summer comic gathering outside Edinburgh", with The Daily Telegraph urging readers "not to bypass it"
Acts who have appeared so far include Linda Smith, Emo Philips, Jimmy Carr (twice), Alan Carr (twice), Natalie Haynes (three times), Al Murray, Rich Hall, Russell Brand, Barry Cryer, Laura Solon, Chris Addison, Howard Read, Janet Street Porter, Wil Hodgson, Jo Brand, Jenny Eclair, Gina Yashere, and Sue Perkins.
Sponsored by mobile phone giant, Vodafone, the Festival also promotes a new act competition, You Must Be Joking. In 2006, Wisecrackers, a stand-up competition/professional mentoring programme for young people was also launched. In 2007, the winners for the 16-18 category were Jacob Guberg and Alexander Quayle.
The 2007 Festival runs 7-14 July, with the highlights including the UK debut of Curb Your Enthusiasm star Susie Essman, Ardal O'Hanlon, Ed Byrne, Phill Jupitus, Paolo Nani, Taylor Mac and Josie Long.
