Jo Brand, Lee Mack, Bad News and a very special Rocky Horror screening for Slapstick

A frenzy of fun? In January? You’d better believe it. The 14th annual Slapstick Festival of silent and visual comedy is back to raise our spirits during the cruellest month. Tickets have just gone on sale for the full programme of events at various Bristol venues from Jan 25-28, 2018. And as the festival’s reputation continues to grow, even more celebs have been eager to join in, offering their services for a sum not unadjacent to bugger-all. Among the Slapstick virgins next year are Jo Brand, Lee Mack, Ade Edmondson and Christopher Biggins.

“January can be a gloomy month,” acknowledges Festival Director Chris Daniels, “but the next Slapstick festival is so full of laugh-out-loud treats from almost every decade since screen comedy began, in a rich mix of styles, that we’re sure this programme will brighten the mood of every comedy fan.”

In addition to the previously announced annual Slapstick Gala, there are four big events at the Colston Hall/Lantern on January 27. First up is When You Fall Down –  James Dangerfield’s one-man musical about the life and career of Buster Keaton, which is one of a series of events marking the centenary of Old Stoneface’s screen debut.

Next up, as part of the 2018 festival’s focus on comedy and music, is Ronnie Golden’s painfully titled First A Fender: A Beginner’s Guide to Rock, in which Barry Cryer’s guitar-playing comedy partner shares yarns about touring with everyone from Tom Jones to Tom Petty (and, one trusts, several other fellas named Tom) as well as with his own comedy punk band The Fabulous Poodles, who famously out-sold the cooler likes of The Clash and The Jam, much to their chagrin.

In Lee Mack’s Laurel & Hardy Classics, the Not Going Out Star hosts an evening of comedy, music and clips of the great duo, including a complete screening of the newly restored, long-thought-lost 1927 short, Battle of the Century. The day rounds off with a special screening of that evergreen audience participation musical comedy, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, hosted by original Transylvanian party guest Christopher Biggins. You’re invited to dress up for the occasion and Mr. Biggins will judge your efforts, awarding a prize for the best costume.

Over at the Old Vic on January 28, Jo Brand shares her top 10 comedy moments in what is guaranteed to be a sell-out event. Later that evening, Young Ones stars Ade Edmondson and Nigel Planer reunite to celebrate the Comic Strip’s 1983 heavy metal spoof Bad News Tour and talk about their legendary appearance at the Castle Donington Monsters of Rock Festival for the sequel, More Bad News. (Your correspondent was in the audience for this one, and from my vantage point they appeared to be absolutely shitting it.)

Elsewhere, festival regular Bill Oddie revisits The Goodies’, ahem, illustrious musical legacy, and will no doubt invite us all to do the Funky Gibbon all over again; Barry Cryer shares memories of his old chums Ronnies Barker and Corbett; and Lucy Porter pays tribute to two of the silent era’s best-loved but now unfairly forgotten female comedians: Constance Talmadge and Betty Balfour.

We’re just scratching the surface here. Check the Slapstick website for the full programme and booking details.