Comedy's stars rally to help save Slapstick Festival

Major online benefit gig next month

Some of the biggest names in British comedy – including Stephen Fry, Matt Lucas, Stephen Merchant and Sir Michael Palin – to take part in an online fundraiser for the Slapstick Festival.

Next month’s virtual gig aims to raise more than £5,000 to help stave off the financial crisis facing the annual celebration of vintage comedy.

Also taking part are Sanjeev Bhaskar, Frankie Boyle, Jo Brand, Rob Brydon, Lee Mack, Stephen Merchant and Robin Ince, who will be hosting the event.

Slapstick director Chris Daniels said: ‘Festivals like Slapstick are expensive to stage and in the past we’ve usually managed to raise the bulk of the costs from a year-round programme of one-off events and ticket sales.

‘But Covid-19’s shutdown of venues has put a halt to this, creating an unexpected and potentially devastating hole in our finances.

‘Touchingly, our celebrity friends have proved as keen as we are to keep Slapstick going and growing. ‘

Sir Michael Palin will recite a trio of comic poems; Boyle will provide advance extracts from his next book, The Future of British Politics, due out in November, and Stephen Merchant will share stories of his childhood in Bristol, where the festival takes place.

Places at the donate-to-view event, which takes place on September 27, can to be booked here.

Slapstick 2021 plans to run for a longer period than normal, from January 10 to 31, as a mix of live and online events.

The festival has also been releasing footage from its archives featuring the likes of John Cleese, French and Saunders, The Goodies, Little and Large and Tim Vine on its YouTube channel.

Published: 27 Aug 2020