20 years in stand up for the Taskmaster cheeky texts icon, multi-award winner, YouTube cult figure, Radio 4 favourite and recently Baby Reindeer actor.

Mark Watson returns after seasons at the Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Edinburgh comedy festivals. A recent encounter with a stranger caused Mark to spend some time pondering the uncertain future facing humanity. He explores this - along with equally pressing matters like the worst word he has ever said in public, the current state of the UK sausage industry, and much more - in a typically frantic and fun-packed new show.

'A genius-level comic doing what he does best'  ★★★★★ Time Out Melbourne

'Quite unlike anything else I’ve seen in almost 20 years of covering the Fringe...witty, warm, perfectly judged' ★★★★★ Telegraph

'One of the most genuinely joyous presences in comedy' ★★★★ The Times 

'This is a stand-up operating at the very top of his game' ★★★★ Independent

Courtyard Theatre
£22.50

Mark's website

X WatsonComedian
Fb Mark Watson Comedian

•  18 Sep SOLD OUT

The UK's top comic magician.

Pete Firman has over 4.5 million social media followers and countless TV appearances under his belt.

Join him for an evening of Tricks and Giggles, as Pete brings his trademark blend of magic and comedy from the small screen to the stage in this brand new show. Expect impossible feats, sleight of hand and big laughs from one of magic's most exciting performers!

As seen on Amazon's Good Omens, ITV1's Tonight at the London Palladium and The Next Great Magician, BBC1's The John Bishop Show and The Sarah Millican Television Programme. He's probably also popped up on your social media feeds with his mind-boggling and regularly viral magic videos.

'The man from Middlesbrough sets the pace for comedy-meets-magic in the 21st century’ The Times

'The new poster-boy for British comedy magic’ The Telegraph

'Seamless blending of quality magic and stand-up comedy. It is a joy to watch’ Edinburgh Festivals Magazine

‘The best magic tricks in the Universe’ Independent

★★★★★ The Mirror | ★★★★★ Time Out | ★★★★ Independent
★★★★ Scotsman | ★★★★ Metro

Courtyard Theatre
£20

Pete's website

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Insta petefirman
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•  10 Oct from £20

A double header of comedy as two top comedians warm up ahead of the Edinburgh Festival.

Rob Auton

Rob Auton released his book I Strongly Believe in Incredible Things with Harper Collins in Autumn of 2021 to critical acclaim.

He has written seven five star rated Edinburgh fringe shows, The Yellow Show, The Sky Show, The Face Show, The Water Show, The Sleep Show, The Hair Show, The Talk Show (the second best reviewed show at the Edinburgh Festival 2018) and The Time Show, which was one of the best reviewed shows at the Edinburgh Festival 2019.

He has performed his unique brand of comedy on The Russell Howard Hour (Sky One) and on Rob Delaney’s Stand Up Central (Comedy Central). The latter set went viral on Facebook with 4.7m views and couniting.  

Rob has had three collections of writing and illustrations published by Burning Eye books and has had his poetry turned into short films and shown on Channel 4. 

Rob made his television acting debut as a corduroy jacket wearing poet in ITV’s Cold Feet 2018. Since then, he performed in series 2 of The End of The Fing World (Netflix/ Channel 4), and Miracle Workers (TBS). Rob also starred in and co-wrote the short film The Peamaster which was nominated for best short film at the Milan Film Festival. Rob was a finalist for The Arts Foundation Spoken Word Award and a winner of a Three Weeks Editors Award. He is a regular poet at Bang Said the Gun (voted best poetry night in the UK by The Times). 

Rob is also the creator of The Rob Auton Daily Podcast which took home The Best Daily Podcast Award at the 2020 British Podcast Awards.

Joe Kent-Walters

Joe Kent-Walters is a multi-award winning comedian and actor from Huddersfield. He has been delighting audiences up and down the country with his idiosyncratic style of outrageous character comedy, most notably with his comic creation Frankie Monroe.

His 'mesmerising and unpredictable presence' (Chortle) performing as Frankie saw him win the 2023 BBC New Comedy Award after a 'barnstorming' (Ibid) set at Glasgow’s Kings Theatre. Joe is now in development with the BBC and Hat Trick Productions.

His debut solo show Frankie Monroe: LIVE!!! has already played to sell out crowds across some of the country’s best comedy festivals including Machynlleth, Hastings, Glasgow and Leicester where it picked up the main award for Best Show. Frankie Monroe: LIVE!!! was also awarded the Keep It Fringe bursary and will be playing at The Monkey Barrel throughout this year’s Edinburgh Festival.

Prior to his BBC success Joe won the 2021 Chortle Student Comedy Award which saw him play the main comedy stage at Latitude festival and tour Australia, performing at the Sydney Comedy Store.

Joe’s double act The Lovely Boys have also been causing a splash in the UK alternative scene. Their eponymous 2022 debut show received critical acclaim and cult status with Jay Richardson. They now run a regular ‘& friends’ gig at Hackney’s Moth Club with Knock2Bag.

Studio
£12

Rob Auton
Rob's Website

X RobertAuton
Insta robauton
Fb Rob Auton

Joe Kent-Walters
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Fb Joe Kent-Walters

•  24 Apr from £12

A double header of comedy as two top comedians warm up ahead of the Edinburgh Festival.

Marise Gaughan

Marise Gaughan is a critically acclaimed comedian and author from Dublin.

In 2022 Marise’s debut memoir, Trouble, was published by Monoray. It was described by The Irish Times as ‘a graphic, explicit, often visceral memoir that engulfs the reader’ as it traces Marise’s unravelling through sex, self-destruction and a near-miss with Scientology. The book went on to be an Irish Bestseller and received fantastic reviews in the press. It was published in paperback in 2023 and Marise is currently working on her first novel.

As a stand-up comedian, Marise started her career in Los Angeles, appearing in on stages including The Comedy Store and The Hollywood Improv. Since returning to the UK, her debut stand-up show Drowning explored her father’s (successful) suicide attempt and her own (unsuccessful) one. It premiered at the Dublin Fringe Festival in 2019 where it was nominated for the Fringe’s Spirit of Wit Moira Brady Averill Award for artists whose work defies categorisation with bold and unconventional material and for the First Fortnight Award for shows that challenge stigma and prejudice about mental health. Marise was subsequently awarded the Women’s Irish Network Arts Bursary. She has also supported acts including Rob Delaney, Ari Shaffir and Jim Norton on tour.

'Gaughan’s humour is dark, biting, and painfully honest, but it is in the moments when she is being gentler to herself that her words are at their most transcendent' Irish Independent

'Trouble is an outstanding memoir, a text on addiction that gets to the heart of its implicit trauma and complications. Gaughan has a remarkable voice, self-assured yet vulnerable, frank to a staggering degree – and likeable even in her darkest moments' The Business Post

'An outstanding text on addiction and girlhood, equal parts vulnerable and witty' The Business Post

Bella Hull

Bella Hull is a stand-up comedian and writer. She is one of the UK’s most exciting young comedians and her television appearances include BBC’s Stand Up for Live Comedy, ITV’s The Stand Up Sketch Show and Comedy Central Live. 

A hugely acclaimed live act, Bella regularly plays to sold out crowds both in the UK and abroad. She has taken two critically-acclaimed shows to the Edinburgh Fringe, Babycakes in 2022 and Piggie in 2024 and has supported Phil Wang, Russell Howard and Paul Chowdhry on tour.

Bella also co-hosts the Rats of the Roundtable and Last Night Ever podcasts and as a writer, Bella is working on a script commission with the BBC and has been featured on BBC Radio 4’s Newsjack and Flux Magazine.

'a new template for generations Z and Alpha to follow' Rolling Stone

'A gifted comedian…definitely see this' ★★★★ Bruce Dessau, Beyond the Joke

'very intelligent – and witty – comedy…an ambitious debut, Hull is clearly a very talented writer and performer' ★★★★ Veronica Lee, The Arts Desk

'There is just so much packed into this show…a sensational performance' ★★★★ Deadline

Studio
£12

Marise Gaughan
X MariseComedy
Insta marisegaughan

Bella Hull
X BellaBellaHull
Insta bellabellahull

•  25 Apr from £12

A double header of comedy as two top comedians warm up ahead of the Edinburgh Festival.

Glenn Moore

Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee Glenn Moore is a comedian, actor and one of the best and most prolific joke writers in the country.

Glenn is a regular face on TV, having appeared on the likes of Live At The Apollo (BBC), Have I Got News For You (BBC), Mock The Week (BBC), 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown (Channel 4), The Russell Howard Hour (Sky), Guessable (Comedy Central), and The Stand Up Sketch Show (ITV2). He is a regular guest on The Great American Joke Off (CW network) in the US.

He has his own Radio 4 comedy series Glenn Moore’s Alamanac. He can be heard daily as one quarter of The Dave Berry Breakfast Show on Absolute Radio, the UK’s biggest commercial radio breakfast show. He’s also appeared regularly on The News Quiz (Radio 4) and The Now Show (Radio 4).

Glenn’s 2022 Fringe show sold out with rave five star reviews from The Mail on Sunday, Chortle and The Courier, amongst a number of other publications. His critically-acclaimed stand-up show Glenn, Glenn, Glenn, How Do You Like It, How Do You Like It was nominated for the Edinburgh Comedy Award. He also toured the UK with his follow up hit Edinburgh show Love Don’t Live Here Glenny Moore. He was named one of Just For Laughs’ New Faces in Montreal in 2023.

He has written for numerous TV shows including The Mash Report (BBC) and Fantasy Football League (Sky), and has been a staff writer on the sketch comedy show Scrambled (CITV).

Pierre Novellie

Pierre Novellie is a stand-up comedian, writer, radio host and podcaster.

Pierre is co-host of The Frank Skinner Show on Absolute Radio, and his television appearances include World’s Most Dangerous Roads (Dave), The Mash Report (BBC2), and Stand Up Central (Comedy Central). Pierre’s first book Why Can’t I Just Enjoy Things?: A Comedian’s Guide to Autism was published by Bonnier in 2024.

In audio, Pierre co-hosts the hit Budpod podcast alongside Phil Wang which has over 3.5million downloads, has performed on The Now Show and The News Quiz (Radio 4), and hosts the BBC Sounds podcast series Obsessed With… SAS: Rogue Heroes. As a writer, Pierre was a regular writer on the rebooted Spitting Image (ITV/Britbox) and has also written on shows including Mock the Week (BBC2), The News Quiz (Radio 4) and The Mash Report (BBC2).

One of the UK’s most acclaimed live acts, Pierre‘s latest show Must We? saw a sold-out run at the Monkey Barrel at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and was his fourth show to have been placed in the top 20 best-reviewed comedy shows across the entire festival and will tour the UK in 2024. He has released two comedy specials, Quiet Ones and Why Can’t I Just Enjoy Things? via US comedy label 800 Pound Gorilla Records which have amassed over half a million views online.

'packed full of belly laughs – each topic could be a full show on its own' ★★★★★ Sharon Lougher, Metro

'A storming hour of punchy, exceptional stand up' ★★★★ Jay Richardson, The Scotsman

'Hilarious…he will go far' ★★★★ Dominic Maxwell, The Times

Studio
£12

Glenn Moore
Glen's website

X TheNewsAtGlenn
Insta glennrogermoore
Fb Glenn Moore

Pierre Novellie
Pierre's website

X PierreNovellie
Insta pierrenovellie
Fb Pierre Novellie

•  30 Apr SOLD OUT

A double header of comedy as two top comedians warm up ahead of the Edinburgh Festival.

Matt Forde

Matt Forde is one of the country’s most in demand satirists.

Described as 'our foremost satirical stand-up' by The Sunday Times, Matt Forde has toured critically acclaimed shows nationwide including most recently Clowns To The Left of Me, Jokers To The Right in 2022 and Inside No. 10 in 2023.

Matt Forde’s hit live podcast The Political Party transferred to the West End’s Duchess Theatre in 2021 after over 70 sold out shows at Westminster’s The Other Palace, for a twice extended fortnightly residency continuing in to 2024. Matt has brought Parliament to life with his stand-up and debate with some of politics’ most powerful figures including Keir Starmer, Nicola Sturgeon, Tony Blair, Eddie Izzard, Jacob Rees-Mogg, Angela Rayner, Michael Heseltine, Anthony Scaramucci, Alastair Campbell, Gordon Brown and Gary Neville. Matt has received numerous nominations from award bodies including the British Podcast Awards and Chortle Awards and the show is regularly highlighted as a top podcast pick in the press.

Matt wrote and voiced characters for Spitting Image (BritBox/ITV) including Boris Johnson, Keir Starmer and Donald Trump. Matt currently presents Absolute Radio’s weekly Rock ‘n’ Roll Football Show. He is also the co-host of Wondery’s flagship British Podcast Award winning British Scandal alongside Alice Levine.

In 2019 alone, Matt hosted the Alternative News Desk for Channel 4’s election night coverage, chaired the One Nation Conservative leadership hustings and debated Britain’s withdrawal from the EU with Tony Blair for the Institute of Global Change.

Matt hosted four series of Unspun with Matt Forde on Dave, receiving several nominations at the Broadcast Digital Awards, and has numerous other broadcast credits including: Have I Got News For You (BBC One), The Royal Variety Performance (ITV), Mock The Week (BBC Two), 8 out of 10 Cats (Channel 4), Hypothetical (Dave) Rory Bremner’s Coalition Report and Rory Bremner’s Election Report (BBC Two), Question Time (BBC One), This Week (BBC One), Newsnight (BBC Two) and Daily Politics (BBC Two).

Matt’s first book Politically Homeless was listed by The Sunday Times as one the Best Political Books of 2020.

Chloe Petts

'One of the most compelling young comics' Brian Logan, The Guardian

'Clearly a rising star whose name will soon be in lights' Bruce Dessau, The Evening Standard

Chloe has established herself as one of the most exciting up and coming acts on the circuit.

Chloe is returning to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this summer with her new show How You See Me, How You Don’t. This comes after a UK Tour of her show If You Can’t Say Anything Nice which sold-out in the first week of the Edinburgh Fringe last year, leading to 6 extra shows being added to the run. In 2022, she performed her debut show Transience to sold-out audiences at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and for two five night runs at Soho Theatre, which led to a tour around the rest of the UK which ended with an extra date added at London’s Leicester Square Theatre. Receiving rave reviews from publications including The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Evening Standard.

On television and radio, Chloe recently appeared on Have I Got News For You (BBC One), and hosted her own segment every Saturday morning on Sky Sports News. She has also been a regular on The Frank Skinner Show (Absolute Radio), World Cup Breakfast (Sky Sports) for the Men’s Football World Cup 2022 and previously for Good Morning Euros (Sky Sports) for the UEFA Women’s Euros. Further appearances include MOTDx (BBC), Jonathan Ross’s Comedy Club (ITV), The Stand-Up Sketch Show (ITV2), Richard Osman’s House of Games (BBC Two), Random Acts (Channel 4), Hypothetical (Dave), Fighting Talk (BBC Radio 5 Live), BBC Three Quickies (BBC Three), as well as winning Pointless Celebrities (BBC One). In terms of podcasts, Chloe has appeared on Off Menu, Films to Buried With and co-hosted The Guilty Feminist.

An alumna of the prestigious Pleasance Comedy Reserve, shortlisted for the BBC Comedy Award, finalist of Leicester Square New Comedian of the Year Awards 2017 and runner-up in the Funny Women Awards 2017. As well as supporting Ed Gamble on current Hot Diggity Dog UK tour and previous tour Electric, Chloe has supported Frank Skinner during his West End run and performed at Melbourne International Comedy Festival this year and last year.

She is a co-founder of The Lol Word, a queer comedy collective that hosts sell-out monthly London nights, boasting the finest female and non-binary queer acts on the circuit. Their most recent Edinburgh run was a sell-out. Diva Magazine has described it as a space that is demographically queer, inclusive, and safe, and on top of all of that – the comedic talent is smart, insightful, hilarious, and completely relatable.

Studio
£12

Matt Forde
Matt's website

X MattForde

Chloe Petts
Chloe's website

X ChloePetts
Insta chloepetts

•  15 May LIMITED

Following his Biggest Award in Comedy nominated debut and subsequent hit tour, multi-award-winning comedian and junior doctor Michael Akadiri brings his sophomore show, Trust Me I’m a Daddy.

Get your mind out of the gutter - not that sort of daddy!

He’s merely become a father.

Michael has long juggled comedy and Medicine but now he’s thrown parenting into the mix too. Surely, something must give?!

Join this ‘hugely entertaining' (Chortle) comedian as he navigates the real-life obstacle course of childrearing, parenting under the junior doctor gaze and ultimately the true sacrifices required of a daddy.

As seen on Comedy Central LIVE, ITVs Stand Up Sketch & Channel 4s Stand Up to Cancer.

As heard on Capital Xtra’s Breakfast Show, BBC Radio 4’s Loose Ends and Times Radio.

Tour support for Jason Manford.

Winner of Komedia New Comedy Award and Comedian of Medicine Award, Haags Comedy Festival alongside NextUp Biggest Award in Comedy nominee.

Featured in The Guardian’s Top 12 and The Telegraph's Top 20 jokes of the Edinburgh Fringe.

Recommended to see by the Evening Standard.

'Politically punchy' The Guardian

'Consistently funny' The Scotsman

'One of the most exciting new voices in comedy' ★★★★ I Talk Telly

 'If laughter is the best medicine, he’s got it covered, if not well he is a doctor' ★★★★ One4Review

Studio
£16.50 I £15 NHS

Michael's website

Insta michaelakadiri
Fb Michael Akadiri

•  17 May from £15

The critically acclaimed comedian is back on the road with a brand new tour show.

Expect Jamali's trademark brutally honest and unflinching perspectives on the world at large.

His last tours have sold out shows across the globe, playing the UK, Europe, Asia, Australia and North America. He is a regular on Sky's Nevermind the Buzzcocks and was one of the most anarchic Taskmaster contestants the show has ever seen. Alongside this he was a regular contributor for BBC2's Frankie Boyle's New World Order and has been seen on BBC2's Live at the Apollo, More4's 8 Out of 10 Cats, CBS's The Late Late Show with James Corden as well as many others.

Courtyard Theatre
£22

This event goes on sale to Members on Thursday 29 August and on general sale on Friday 30 August. Find out more about becoming a Member by clicking here. Members can click here to login for priority booking.

Jamali's website

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Insta jamalimaddix
Fb Jamali Maddix
Tiktok jamalimaddix

•  24 May LIMITED