FRIDAY SHOWS
Marjolein Robertson: Clouds (WIP)
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Shetland comedian Marjolein has been mixing folklore and stand-up for years and she's not going to stop. But she’s doing a work-in-progress show this year to have a big think. Come along and join for stories, jokes and fiddle tunes.
Marjolein was a finalist in Channel 4’s Sean Lock Comedy Award and BBC New Comedy Awards, and she was shortlisted for the prestigious Sir Billy Connolly Spirit of Glasgow Award.
‘Phenomenal’ ***** (List)
‘Spellbinding’ ***** (One4Review)
‘A fine mix of surreal storytelling whimsy, winsome silliness and scatological filth’ ***** (ThreeWeeks) -
NUGGIT - alternative cabaret
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IT’S NUGGIT — the alternative cabaret night, serving up golden chunks of comedy, drag and live music in one stinking hot variety bucket.
Hosted by the legendary BOPA RHYS, we’re bringing together some of the crispiest-acts from around the country to celebrate the wild and the weird, the saucy and the silly. No soggy chips in sight. -
Abi Clarke: Revenge in Progress (WIP)
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Abi's had a bad year. Lost her home, friends and for a few months... her ability to walk. She may not have a finished show, but oh baby does she have gossip. Join Abi as she refines and develops her new show in preparation for her 2027 tour. As seen on BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Comedy Central and Sky. Over 2 million followers online.
'Hilarious and relatable' The Independent
'Compelling observational humour' The Scotsman
'She has star quality' The Times -
Jojo Maberly: Spend a Day with Hattie the Vicar
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25-year-old, TikTok-obsessed Hattie the Vicar has moved to a brand new village. Desperate to be liked by her parishioners, aching to be viral on social media, Hattie takes you on a day in her life as she navigates village-life and algorithms. Expect gossip from the locals in the village pub, self-written hymns (or her-ms) for the girlies, Bridget Jones-themed sermons at funerals, and fancying the Church Warden's grandsons (in their 20s!!).
Spend a Day with Hattie the Vicar is written and performed by award-winning comedian JoJo Maberly. In 2023, JoJo won the ‘Best Newcomer’ award at the Musical Comedy Awards for her ‘impressive musical chops’ (BeyondTheJoke). Since then, JoJo has written on multiple shows for BBC Radio 4, become a Regional Finalist in the BBC New Comedy Awards on BBC Three, and in January 2025, JoJo was crowned winner of the Bristol Comedy Competition.
- 'Witty and unexpected' Chortle
- 'Innovative... Distinctive' Beyond The Joke
- 'Likeability and talent in equal measure' Funny Women -
Kate Cheka: The Last Funny Woman WIP
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Last year Kate attempted to save the world or as The Guardian put it... 'political comedy may yet have found its new messiah.' Now she thinks perhaps it is time to burn it all down. Everything is falling apart. What does it mean to be a woman (and a feminist) in the midst of an apocalypse? Expect stories about the farmer she could have married, an awards ceremony after party, appearing on BBC Radio 4 and Berlin STI tests interspersed with razor sharp political comedy on colonialism and the rise of fascism. ‘A skillful mix of raunchy, raconteurial energy and cutting social commentary, which seems to reflect the delicate modern balancing act of fighting the good fight whilst having a bloody good time before the whole thing goes up in flames’ (European Comedy Review)
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GiggleFest Comedy Club
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GiggleFest Comedy Club is one of Exeter’s fastest-growing independent comedy nights, rooted firmly in the local scene while welcoming some of the UK circuit’s most exciting comedians to the South West. Founded by comedian and producer Josh Devz, GiggleFest has built a reputation for packed rooms, bold line-ups and a warm, welcoming atmosphere where audiences feel just as much part of the night as the performers on stage.
Hosted regularly at different venues in Exeter, GiggleFest blends established comedians visiting the city with rising stars and homegrown talent helping shape the region’s comedy scene. The result is a lively, unpredictable night of stand-up where you might see a local favourite, a future star, or a touring act passing through — often all on the same bill.
Whether you’re a comedy regular or just looking for a great night out in Exeter, GiggleFest delivers big laughs, strong community vibes, and some of the most exciting live stand-up the city has to offer. -
Ed Gaughan Is…..THE EMPEROR!! (WIP)
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Work In Progress Comedy From Award Winning Idiot.
Ed’s got a story he needs to tell, about a disastrous gig, a life changing opportunity and a
surprising family secret…
Standup, Characters, Live Music, Lies.
Keep your expectations low and nobody gets hurt.
Over many years Ed has written, directed and performed work for and with many of the UK’s
most loved standups, sketch teams and clowns- including Milton Jones, Josie Long, Will
Adamsdale, Barry Cryer, Pappy’s and Spymonkey. He’s also the voice of Baron Greenback
in Dangermouse, Gideon in Sky TV’s Brassic (to which he was a contributing writer) and the
Co-creator, co-writer and star of the BAFTA nominated movie ‘Skeletons’ which won the
‘Michael Powell Award For Cinema’ at The Edinburgh Festival. Ed is a ‘Peter Sellers Award
For Comedy’ nominee
As a musician Ed has performed numerous gigs including Glastonbury, London Jazz and
Porto Jazz Festivals and as a composer for stage, screen and audio. (Including scoring
‘Hamlet’ for Shakespeare’s Globe)
“Original and intelligent, if Ed Gaughan doesn’t already have a cult fan base they should
really set one up” **** Metro
“Eccentric, heartfelt and very funny” ****Guardian
“A surreal disorientating hybrid of theatre, stand up comedy and jazz concert incorporating a
talent for accents and impressions with hysterical physical comedy” **** Independent
Cast & Creative Team
Writer/Performer/ Composer ED GAUGHAN
Director TOM PARRY
Dramaturg DR WES WILLIAMS
Producer PETER SMITH -
Dan Tiernan: Quartz and All
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With a hat trick of sold-out Edinburgh shows under his belt, Dan is a double-Edinburgh award nominee who has received countless five-star reviews. There’s no wonder The Guardian has named him “One of Comedy's Most Distinctive New Voices”.
Dan comes to Exeter Comedy Festival armed with an amethyst, a bucket full of sage and a rose quartz the size of his impossibly large head. And if that isn't otherworldly enough, he'll be delivering his most ambitious hour of stand-up to date.
As seen on Live at the Apollo, 8 out of 10 Cats Does Count Down, The Last Leg, QI, Just for Laughs New Faces and Mitchell and Webb are Not Helping. -
Joanna Neary - Two Strings & Paint Tins
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How To Create Character Comedy. Joanna Neary presents a clown show based on her experimental podcast about making things and finding a way, despite poor time management, overwhelm, family commitments and ambivalence around ambition and malaise.
Love character comedy? Want to have a go at it yourself one day? Fancy gawping at a middle-aged woman who is dressed as a biscuit? Want to express unpopular opinions without losing (too many) friends? This farcical display of comedy creations is a behind-the-scenes collection of stories and stand up, from finding inspiration in a hairdresser’s chair, to near-disastrous failures and why.
Depending upon Jo's chaotic challenges around organisation, the show may or may not: be recorded with a special guest, include live drawing and/or feature a photograph of a conker.
Joanna Neary is an award-winning writer and comedian, who has done many fringe shows and acted in TV series such as How Are You - It’s Alan Partridge, Ideal, Time Trumpet, That Mitchell And Webb Look, Man Down, So Awkward and more.
Radio writing and performing credits include Inbox: The Art Of Now, Wosson Cornwall, Out To Lunch and Library Lady for BBC Radio 4 and Radio 2. You can find Two Strings And Paint Tins Podcast at the usual pod places.
“Truly inventive and way beyond most bog standard stand-up. A genuinely original talent, who builds bonfires with the tired preconceptions of female stand-ups.” – Johnny Vegas
‘All the characters are given a slightly crazed delivery and invested with an other-worldliness that sets her above your common-or-garden character comic. Quite brilliant’ **** Chortle
‘Neary is a character actress par excellence, not only are her characters well observed and immaculately performed, but they are well written and, most importantly, funny… A Joyce Grenfell of our age.’ The Guardian -
2 Muslim 2 Furious 3: Sharia? I hardly know her!
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Tired of being called terrorists, Aisha and Hasan became something worse: comedians!
After back-to-back sell-out runs, featuring on BBC R4, and raising over £8000 for Medical Aid for Palestinians, the Islamic double-act return with a brand new show!
Join Aisha Amanduri and Hasan Al-Habib for gameshows and prizes, leaked footage of their Riyadh Comedy Festival audition, and the answer to the question: did the Queen REALLY convert to Islam?!
10% of all proceeds donated to MAP.
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"generous in spirit as it is in laughs" - Broadway Baby
“Aisha Amanduri and Hasan Al-Habib bring the strongest stage presence that I have ever seen” - The Student -
An Evening of Comedy with Paul Foot
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Paul Foot has been a hero of the alternative comedy circuit for more than two decades. Fresh from
sell-out runs at Edinburgh Fringe and London’s Soho Theatre, as well as a smash-hit tour of the UK,
Ireland, and Australia, Paul’s critically-acclaimed tour show, Dissolve, was nominated for Best Show
at the Chortle Awards 2024, co-won the (ISH) Edinburgh Comedy Award 2023 for Best Show, and
was nominated for the NextUp Biggest Award in Comedy 2023.
Paul is a cult favourite on hit television series’ Would I Lie To You?, Never Mind the Buzzcocks and 8
Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, and has built up a huge cult following of savvy comedy-goers,
dubbed ‘The Guild of Paul Foot Connoisseurs’. He has won Best Show at the Sydney Comedy
Festival, has twice been nominated for the prestigious Melbourne International Comedy Festival Most
Outstanding Show Award and was nominated for the Perrier Best Newcomer Award at the Edinburgh
Fringe.
“He's a comedy genius, one of the funniest things I've seen. Sublime, original and brilliant”
The Independent
“Funnier and more daring than I’ve ever seen him…Has the audience laughing so hard they’re about
to leave their bodies”
Chortle
“Quite simply, he is mind blowing, so if you fancy your mind being blown Paul Foot is one of the few
comedians working today who can do it for you”
The Mirror -
Cristina Varga and Hayley Ashton
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Cristina and Hayley are two women in the South West standup scene bored of being the token diversity acts so we’re making you listen to a whole hour just about us.
With Cristina dedicating this chapter of her life to becoming a true Janner, we get a peek into her life navigating British societal norms and stereotypes.
Hayley is desperate to monetise her insane family lore, giving you ridiculous anecdotes and daft life observations.
Prepare to laugh (hopefully?) or prepare to loudly smile at all the gaps we’ve left where we hoped you would laugh (we’ll take it.) -
Adam Riches AS Sean Bean IN… ‘THE TWELVE BEANS OF CHRISTMAS’
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So come join the one and not quite only Sean Bean in full on medieval mode, as he challenges you to a sackful of seasonal games, each hellbent on getting you all giddy.
"A powerhouse performer" Chortle "Words can't convey the madness. You have to be there" Beyond the Joke
One of Chortle's Top Ten Most Memorable Gigs of 2025
Previous praise for Adam Riches
★★★★★ Times
★★★★★ Independent
★★★★★ Telegraph
★★★★★ Scotsman
★★★★★ Time Out
★★★★★ Chortle
★★★★★ Fest
★★★★★ Beyond the Joke -
Evaldas Karosas: Work in Progress
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Take a cynical, detached mind forged in Eastern Europe and train it in the art of Western stand-up. The result is a brutally honest and sharply relatable hour of comedy.
This show gives a microphone to the quiet, calculating voice in the back of your head. It’s an hour of comedy about the thoughts we all have, but are smart enough not to say out loud.
BBC new comedy awards finalist 2025
Tour Support for Kevin Bridges, Vittorio Angelone, Gianmarco Soresi, Kyla Cobbler -
Johnny White Really-Really – Work in Progress
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Johnny White Really-Really – Work in Progress
Johnny White Really-Really is back from the murky depths just in time to do something new and as yet unknown! -
Ted Hill: PowerPoindexter
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Ted Hill invites you into his strange and chaotic mind, through ridiculous jokes, silly visual effects, and 3.4 gigabytes of slides. You've never seen PowerPoints be this stupid.
Ted recently discovered that he’s weird, but he has a new puzzle to solve: what kind of weird does he want to be?
ISH Edinburgh Comedy Award for Best Show Nominee 2024
British Comedy Guide Recommended Show 2022, 2024, 2025
"genuinely hilarious" - Broadway Baby
"a comedian who struggles to make or maintain eye contact" - Chortle -
Katie Norris – Work in Progress
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Katie Norris – Work in Progress
Fresh from a string of major comedy accolades, including Winner of the Musical Comedy Awards 2023, Leicester Comedy Festival Best Show 2025, Nominee for Best Show at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards 2025 and British Comedy Guide’s Next Big Thing 2025, Katie Norris brings a brand-new hour of something she genuinely hopes will be good. -
Stuart Goldsmith: Canary (Work In Progress)
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As the miners scrambled to safety, they'd often grab the dead canary and then immediately revive it with pure oxygen, condemning it to a constant loop of singing, panicking, dying and then singing again. A bit like medicating your chronic anxiety by making people laugh about the climate crisis.
As seen on Live At The Apollo (BBC) and Conan (TBS).
“A master of the form” ★★★★★ Independent
“The funny side of climate change... No, really!” ★★★★ Times -
Amy Annette: Say What You Like About Me WIP
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This show is about being hot (or not). 'A Genius' (Broadwayworld). As heard on: Off Menu and BBC Radio 4. As seen on: The Way Out (Dave). As smelt on: Tour support for Aisling Bea. Top 50 best reviewed shows 2025 (British Comedy Guide). **** (Guardian). **** (Chortle). **** (List). 'Brilliant, hilarious. If I didn't love her so much, I'd hate her' (Suzi Ruffell).
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‘Sod it, let’s make it!’ – a panel about creativity with Alice Lowe, Joel Morris and Izzy Mant
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‘Sod it, let’s make it!’ – a conversation about creativity in a big bad world with
Alice Lowe, Joel Morris and Izzy Mant
What do we want? Brilliant scripted comedy! Weird, original short films! Sinister
ventriloquism! A shrubbery! What do the commissioners want? Big hits! Dead certs!
Licensed content! Branding partnerships!
How do artists of all kinds keep the joy and momentum of creation going when
commissioners are risk averse and streamers are calling the shots? And how do
they make quality work on a shoestring? Join writer, director and actor Alice Lowe
(Timestalker, Prevenge, Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace), comedy writer and podcaster
Joel Morris (‘funny as fuck’ Charlie Brooker), and screenwriter, comedian and former
comedy producer Izzy Mant (Peep Show, The Windsors) as they talk about their
experiences of collaborating, navigating the industry gatekeepers, and saying ‘sod it,
let’s just make it’.With thanks to Mary Morris of Arvon who will be chairing the conversation.
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Dead Material
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LINEUP INCLUDES:
JOSH WIDDICOMBE
MARJOLEIN ROBERTSON
HARRI DOBBS
KATE CHEKA
Ever wanted to feel like you’re discovering a comedian before they’re cool? Ever wanted to be ahead of the curve? Ever wanted to see incredible comedians do material that probably sucks?
With sell out shows at Machynlleth and Aberystwyth comedy festivals, Dead Material is the show where the best comedians do some of their worst jokes. Specifically their oldest jokes. See some of Exeter festival's best rewind the clock and perform material they thought was well behind them. Created and hosted by May Thompson, Dead Material will give you a chance to see some of your favourite acts, digging up their past. -
DYKE Systems Ltd
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Sally and Susan aren’t your average suburban women. They’re business women. And they invite you to a prestigious seminar that could help you get filthy rich!
Step into the glittery, unhinged world of multi-level marketing mayhem with Fag Packet, Kheski Kobler and Holly Wilson-Guy, the award-winning cabaret and theatre double act. Equal parts corporate seminar and queer fever dream, DYKE Systems Ltd is a sharp, subversive takedown of pyramid schemes, ruthless heteronormativity and corporate feminism.
Set in the 1990s at the height of multi-level marketing expansion, DYKE Systems Ltd follows the story of Sally and Susan, two suburban American women on the hunt for new recruits for their ‘very lucrative business opportunity’.
As they dive deeper into the world of multi-level marketing cracks begin to appear, unravelling corruption and unspoken desires as the lies they’ve built everything on start to catch up with them.
Blending Fag Packet’s signature cocktail of comedy and physical theatre DYKE Systems Ltd explores how the forces of greed and conformity threaten us in a capitalist nightmare that’s coming for us all.
Bring your wallets, your carabiner and get ready to find your inner
(D)ynamic! (Y)oung! (K)nowledgeable! (E)ntrepreneur!★★★★★ The Stage
“An exceptional Edinburgh Fringe debut…with whip-smart precision”★★★★★ The Skinny
‘Razor Sharp…hysterically funny satire of pink washing, capitalist greed and corporate absurdity”★★★★★ Ed Fest Mag
“Flawless physical performers with buckets of energy, perfectly in sync… always ready with a high camp, winky aside”★★★★ The Scotsman
“An anarchic delight”Selected as part of The Stage Fringe Five, theatre makers who made the biggest impact at Edinburgh Fringe 2025.
Credits
Written, Performed and Created by: Kheski Kobler & Holly Wilson-Guy
Directed and Co-Written with: Lucy Allan
Producer: Beth Sitek
Movement Director: Barry Fitzgerald
Set Design: Shahaf Beer
Lighting Design: Benny Goodman
Sound Design: Sarah Spencer -
Time: 05/06/25 @19:00-20:00
Venue: Studio 1 @ The Phoenix
Pay What You Can: £8 - £16
Students & Under 25s: £6
Walter Jack. Remembering Shoe-Based Comedy (WIP)
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Walter casts his mind back to the heyday of shoe-based comedy with reminiscences, jokes a few - and the dream of a revival!
Who now remembers that all comedy was once about shoes? Walter does. He’ll take you on an enthralling journey back to the post-war years when ‘all we laughed about were shoes!’.
‘Perfectly honed with elements of the surreal’. Slap Magazine
‘Pointless meta-comedy’. Chortle
‘Breaking 4th walls, messing with premises in a way that's almost punk’. Greenbank Comedy
Walter is co-host of the satirical YouTube series ‘The Joke Clinic’ and runs his own new material night in Bristol.
@waltertillimantjack -
sold out:
BRIDGET CHRISTIE: WORK IN PROGRESS
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Bridget Christie will fill the time. It’s not yet clear how. Come! It will be fun!
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Huge Davies – Work in Progress
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Edinburgh Comedy Award Nominee, Huge Davies, is writing a new show and you’re all invited to watch him perform at his most vulnerable.
As seen on Cats Does Countdown, House of Games, Roast Battle and Live at the Comedy Store and, of course, Off Menu.
★★★★ Ed Fringe Reviews
★★★★ Telegraph
★★★★★ To Do List
★★★★ Chortle
★★★★★ List
★★★★ Scotsman
★★★★★ Broadway World -
Daniel Kitson – Work In Progress.
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Daniel Kitson is working on a new show.
He’s hoping, once again, to make something better than before: Really funny, maybe a bit
sad, intermittently thought provoking, slightly audacious and, ideally, completely
unfathomable.
He started properly thinking about it in the middle of January and it needs to be finished by
August. So. That should give you a sense of how far through the process, these particular
shows are likely to be – a lot of marble and not much sculpture, essentially.
On the upside, they’ve been priced accordingly and will last no more than 90 minutes.
Please note: All copy provided by Daniel Kitson. -
Time: 05/06/26 @21:00-22:30
Also on 04/06/26 @22:30-00:00 AND on 06/06/26 @19:30-21:00
Venue: The Bootlegger
£9 incl. booking fee
Spencer Jones: Dogs (work in progress)
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Two time Edinburgh award nominee and multiple BAFTA nominee returns to the Exeter Comedy Festival. Join him as he crafts a brand new hour of comedy inspired by dogs. If you love dogs, or if you hate dogs, this is the show for you. Expect new characters, music, paper mache masks and a fair bit of barking (probably) not suitable for kids
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Sophie Duker - The Sophie Duker Show (Work in Progress)
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Sophie Duker - The Sophie Duker Show (Work in Progress)
This IS a drill! The eldest daughter of UK comedy is back trialling her spiciest material to date.
Join Taskmaster champion & panel show princess Sophie Duker as she tests out scandalous new jokes for her 2026/27 epic. Strap in, sit tight and do not adjust your sets as we bring you... The Sophie Duker Show. -
JOSIE LONG’S LONG SHORTS
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At least 8 comedians, writers and performers have been challenged by Josie Long to write a story with the same title for this silly literary show. Different genres, different styles- which one will the audience favour and crown the champion??
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Nish Kumar WIP
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Nish Kumar the UK’s leading political stand-up (and really nice guy) shares new material. Nish is co-host of the hugely popular Pod Save the UK podcast and one of Taskmasters great losers. Expect brand new existential angst and political disquiet from comedy’s cheekiest boy.
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Time: 05/06/26 @21:00-22:00
Venue: Topsham Brewery
More info on ticket site.
£11 (incl. booking fee)
Josh Widdicombe and Friends
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Josh Widdicombe has just finished a tour and so now he is starting work on a new one, here tonight. Join Exeter’s newest resident as he tries new ideas for the first time and then gets friends to do actual good stand up due to his lack of confidence in his own.
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Ahir Shah – Work in Progress
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Ahir Shah – Work in Progress
2023 Sky Edinburgh Comedy Award winner for Best Show, Ahir Shah returns with a preview ahead of a new international tour.
It’s about love, money, family, responsibility, fear, forever, and frogs.
Shah’s last show, Ends, toured the UK, Ireland, US, Australia, New Zealand and India, and is now available on Netflix.
★★★★★ Guardian
★★★★★ Chortle
★★★★★ Independent
★★★★★ Telegraph
★★★★★ Standard
★★★★★ Mail on Sunday
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Will Adamsdale: AI, AI, Oh...
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AI, AI, Oh …
(or how I wrote a hit sitcom with ChatGPT but we’re
not talking now)
Once upon a time, a washed up London writer-comedian-technophobe went off-
grid in a confused lockdown relocation
But the grass ain’t always greener…
His only hope? His greatest enemy – technology!
Perrier and Fringe First winner Will Adamsdale presents a new
show about bots, block and getting away from it all
Directed by Tom Parry-Wicks
Produced by Fuel and Will Adamsdale
“An utter delight” Guardian (on FaceTime, 2019)
“absurd, hilarious and touching in equal measure” Chortle * ( on Borders 2014) -
Hasan Al-Habib: Stuck in the Middle (East) With You - Work In Progress
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Arab. Muslim. Brummy. 'Deliciously funny' (Guardian) Hasan Al-Habib's Edinburgh Fringe debut show Death to the West (Midlands), about growing up Iraqi in Birmingham during the second gulf war, sold out its entire run and six extra dates.
He returns with a WIP of his new show, possibly called “Stuck in the Middle (East) with you”.
His agent told him it needs to be more relatable for White British people, so it’s all about growing up as a child of divorce.
25% of artist’s proceeds will go to the charity Medical Aid for Palestinians.
'Al-Habib will be famous' (Rolling Stone).
'Edgy and silly in exactly the right balance' (Sara Pascoe). -
Time: 05/06/26 @18:00-19:00
Venue: The Bootlegger
More info on ticket site.
£9 incl. booking fee