Birmingham Comedy Festival is back this autumn featuring some of the biggest names in stand-up alongside the cream of the West Midlands comedy scene.

Running from Friday 4 to Sunday 13 October 2024, the award-winning annual arts festival welcomes over 150 acts, including Sarah Millican (13 Oct, Symphony Hall), The Mash Report’s Rachel Parris (10 Oct, Town Hall), and Maisie Adam (8 Oct, Town Hall).

Joining them are Milton Jones (6 Oct, Town Hall); Jason Byrne (11 Oct, Town Hall); ‘Instagram dad’ George Lewis (13 Oct, The Glee Club); Hollyoaks and EastEnders actor Richard Blackwood (13 Oct, The Glee Club) - marking 30 years in comedy with pal Slim; the delightful Laura Lexx (10 Oct, Old Joint Stock); South African comedian Schalk Bezuidenhout (6 Oct, The Glee Club); and Frank Skinner’s radio co-host Pierre Novellie (9 Oct, The Glee Club).

With an eye on comedy’s rich history, there’s also a triple-bill of Laurel and Hardy films (11 Oct, West Midlands Police Museum), while play Howerd’s End (3-5 Oct, Old Joint Stock) explores the troubled life of comedian Frankie Howerd, and Hancock’s Half Hour: The Lost TV Episodes (4 Oct, The Crescent Theatre) recreates three long lost episodes from the 1950s BBC sitcom.

As always, the region’s vibrant comedy scene is well represented with appearances from Jo Enright (7 Oct, Hockley Social), Black Country star Jonny Cole (10 Oct, Sutton Coldfield Town Hall), and Shazia Mirza (11 Oct, Birmingham Hippodrome), plus Richard Dadd, Rachel Baker, Damon Conlan, Hasan Al-Habib (winner of the festival’s Breaking Talent Award 2024), Joe Bingham, Sachin Kumarendran and Harry Jenkins. Meanwhile, the prestigious Birmingham Comedy Festival Breaking Talent Award 2024 (10 Oct, The Glee Club) continues to celebrate the next wave of West Mids’ comedy talent.

The always popular Birmingham Comedy Festival Free Half-Dayers (6 Oct & 13 Oct, The Victoria & Cherry Reds) also return. With back-to-back shows at two venues on John Bright Street, acts lined up include Channel 4 Sean Lock Comedy Award winner Eric Rushton, A&E doctor/comedian Kwame Asante, James Cook (with his cult Edinburgh Fringe hit Board Game Smackdown), Breaking Talent 2022 winner Hannah Weetman, and Funny Women Award finalist Tal Davies.

Elsewhere, The Comedy Junction Big Improv Night (6 Oct) promises games and on-the-spot larks, with more improvised comedy courtesy of the topical Behind The Headlines, TV-themed Next Time On, Box Of Frogs, and Jumprov! appearing across the 10-day festival.

Supported by The Arcadian with What’s On Magazine (Media Partner), Birmingham Comedy Festival takes place at over 20 venues across the city from Friday 4 to Sunday 13 October 2024. For more information, including tickets, see: bhamcomfest.co.uk