BBC Comedy Festival: Royal Court Theatre, 13th and 14th of May 2026

Events

Although the BBC Comedy Festival 2026 is probably more of an industry event, lots of it is open to the public, so fans and keen amateurs might want to get in on the action as well.

Part of the reason the festival exists is to create a gateway for new talent to enter the industry, so if you fancy yourself as a budding comedian or comedy writer, it’s a must attend event.

Some of the industry’s most celebrated funny people will be there doing talks or workshops, so the advice is going to be invaluable.

Just a handful of the people booked to attend include:

Adam Rowe
Akemnji Ndifornyen
Alexei Sayle
Alison Steadman
David Mumeni
Diane Morgan
Emer Maguire
Fatiha El-Ghorri
Gbemisola Ikumelo
Holly Walsh
James Corden
John Bishop
Larry Rickard
Lee Mack
Michael Odewale,
Sir Michael Palin
Mike Bubbins
Philippa Dunne
Rhianna Dhillon
Ruth Jones
Sam Nicoresti
Sue Johnston

They will be involved in a selection of panel discussions, screenings, short film nights, live comedy shows and networking events, and you can join them.

Tickets and Prices

There are too many different events taking place to talk about them individually, but the good news is that a lot of them are FREE. Although you will still need to book.

Anything open to the public is taking place at the Liverpool Royal Court, so that’s the place to go to book your tickets and find out more about each individual event.

Some events will include performances or be more about people showing their work, others will be more about learning and talking through different approaches to writing or creating characters.

The Wednesday events are late afternoon and into the evening, but on Thursday there are event starting from just after lunch and continuing into the evening.