The Hull Comedy Festival is an annual event that takes place in

Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, inland from the North Sea and south-east ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Background

The Hull Comedy Festival was established in 2006, when a local businessman John Gilbert received funding from Hull Business Improvement District to develop a sustainable event that would benefit the evening economy. John Gilbert handed over the reins of Hull Comedy Festival in 2013 to C69 Comedy (RTCE Productions). However, in 2015, John Gilbert resumed the role as the director of Hull Comedy Festival with the support of a team of volunteers.

2007

The festival ran from 26 October to 9 November and featured over seventy performers at over forty events. John Gilbert launches Hull Comedy Festival and assembled a team of sponsors and volunteers. Performers included

Russell Howard Russell Joseph Howard (born 23 March 1980) is an English comedian, television presenter, radio presenter, and actor. He was known for his television show ''Russell Howard's Good News'' and is currently doing ''The Russell Howard Hour'', and his ...

Stewart Lee Stewart Graham Lee (born 5 April 1968) is an English comedian, screenwriter, and television director. His stand-up routine is characterised by repetition, internal reference, deadpan delivery, and consistent breaking of the fourth wall. Lee b ...

Justin Moorhouse Justin Moorhouse (born 15 May 1970) is an English stand-up comedian, radio DJ and actor from Manchester. He appeared in ''Phoenix Nights'', ''Looking for Eric'' and Guess The Attendance. Moorhouse has also appeared as a guest on the Dave TV ser ...

Lucy Porter Lucy Donna Porter (born 27 January 1973) is an English actress, writer and comedian. She has performed at the Edinburgh Fringe, the Brighton Festival and many clubs around Britain. She is also a regular voice on BBC Radio 4 in various panel sh ...

Trevor Lock Trevor Lock (born 2 September 1973) is an English comedian, actor and playwright. He is noted for the circuitous and Surrealism, surreal nature of his comedy. Early life Trevor Lock grew up in the Northamptonshire villages of Flore and Bugbr ...

Frank Sidebottom Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Cur ...

, John Shuttleworth and Ivan Brackenbury. These were a varied range of famous, local, and touring acts. The Hull Blokes, The Live Naked Idiots (including comedy magician Alan Hudson), Masked Dan, Andy Train and Scarlet Lights Theatre Company are amongst the local performers who also appeared. Participating venues in 2007 included:

Hull Truck Theatre Hull Truck Theatre is a theatre in Kingston upon Hull, England, which presents drama productions, and also tours. In March 2022, the theatre's original premises on Coltman Street, Hull, was recognised by a blue plaque to coincide with the theatr ...

, The Quality Royal Hotel, The Lamp, The New Clarence, Northern Academy of Performing Arts, Tiger's Lair, Pave, The Octagon, The Freedom Centre, Durty Nelly’s, The Dorchester Hotel, Punchbowl, The Piper,

Cineworld Cineworld Group plc is a British cinema operator headquartered in London, England. It is the world's second-largest cinema chain (after AMC Theatres), with 9,518 screens across 790 sites in 10 countries: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Irela ...

and the

University of Hull The University of Hull is a public research university in Kingston upon Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1927 as University College Hull. The main university campus is located in Hull and is home to the Hull ...

. Street comedy performances were also scheduled to take place at

Queen Victoria Square Queen Victoria Square is a public square located in the centre of Kingston upon Hull, England. The square is dedicated to Queen Victoria, and contains numerous buildings including Hull City Hall, the Maritime Museum and Ferens Art Gallery. A sta ...

and St Stephen's in the city centre. A festival taster, was also featured on ITV.

2008

The festival ran from 23 October to 7 November. This year, Hull Comedy Festival became East Yorkshire's largest ticket festival, with a 400% increase in sales, it led to over 12,000 tickets being sold.

Paddy McGuinness Patrick Joseph McGuinness (born 14 August 1973) is an English actor, comedian and television presenter. He rose to fame with the help of Peter Kay, who invited him to appear in his programmes ''That Peter Kay Thing'', ''Phoenix Nights'' and ''Ma ...

Frankie Boyle Francis Martin Patrick Boyle (born 16 August 1972) is a Scottish comedian and writer. He is known for his cynical, surreal, graphic and often controversial sense of humour. A stand-up comedian since 1995, Boyle first gained widespread recognit ...

Pete Firman Peter "Pete" Firman (born 26 April 1980) is an English magician, comedian and television presenter. He has appeared in magic shows on BBC1, ITV, Channel 4, Five, and Sky1. He was also the presenter of two game shows on CBBC: ''Stake Ou ...

Jason Manford Jason John Manford (born 26 May 1981) is an English comedian, presenter, actor and singer. Manford was a team captain on the Channel 4 panel show ''8 Out of 10 Cats'' from 2007 until 2010 and has presented numerous television shows for the BBC an ...

Keith Chegwin Keith Chegwin (17 January 1957 – 11 December 2017) was an English television presenter and actor, appearing in several children's entertainment shows in the 1970s and 1980s, including ''Multi-Coloured Swap Shop'' and ''Cheggers Plays Pop''. ...

and

Russell Kane Russell Kane (born Russell David Anthony Grineau; 19 August 1975) is an English writer, comedian, and actor. He has 4 times been nominated at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards, winning the Best Comedy Show award in 2010. Although known mainly for st ...

performed at what was billed "''the difficult second festival''". Whilst local acts created Green Helmet Day and Festival anthems. It was delivered in partnership by Hull City Centre BID, eskimosoup, Hull Colour Pages and St. Stephens with the support of over a dozen local companies and organisations.

2009

The festival ran from 23 October to 7 November, organised by eskimosoup in partnership with Hull Business Improvement District, KCFM 99.8 and Hull Colour Pages. Performers included

Alistair McGowan Alistair Charles McGowan (born 24 November 1964) is an English impressionist, comic, actor, singer and writer best known to British audiences for ''The Big Impression'' (formerly ''Alistair McGowan's Big Impression''), which was, for four years ...

Al Murray Alastair James Hay Murray (born 10 May 1968) is an English comedian, actor, musician and writer from Hammersmith. In 2003, he was listed in ''The Observer'' as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy, and in 2007 he was voted the 16th gr ...

Rich Hall Richard Travis Hall (born June 10, 1954) is an American comedian, writer, documentary maker and musician, first coming to prominence as a sketch comedian in the 1980s. He wrote and performed for a range of American networks, in series such as ...

and

. Shows included stage comedy '' Little Shop of Horrors'' and an adaptation of the TV sitcom, ''

Porridge Porridge is a food made by heating or boiling ground, crushed or chopped starchy plants, typically grain, in milk or water. It is often cooked or served with added flavourings such as sugar, honey, (dried) fruit or syrup to make a sweet cereal, ...

'' starring

Shaun Williamson Shaun Williamson (born 29 November 1965) is an English actor best known as Barry Evans in ''EastEnders'' and as a satirical version of himself in the BBC/HBO sitcom '' Extras'', 'Barry off EastEnders'. Early life Williamson was born in Park Wo ...

. Festival Director John Gilbert hailed the festival the "most satisfying yet" due to high audience figures throughout the programme as well as several successful community projects. The Festival hosted multiple community projects, that were aimed at improving health and boosting confidence.

2010

The 2010 festival took place between 21 October and 7 November and was again organised by eskimosoup with Jon Reed as creative director. Performers included

Sarah Millican Sarah Jane Millican ( King; born 29 May 1975) is an English comedian, writer and presenter. Millican won the comedy award for Best Newcomer at the 2008 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. In February 2013 she was listed as one of the 100 most powerful ...

Milton Jones Milton Hywel Jones (born 16 May 1964) is an English comedian. His style of humour is based on one-liners involving puns delivered in a deadpan and slightly neurotic style. Jones has had various shows on BBC Radio 4 and was a recurring guest pa ...

Ross Noble Ross Markham Noble (born 5 June 1976) is an English stand-up comedian and actor. Noble rose to mainstream popularity through making appearances on British television, particularly interviews and on panel shows such as '' Have I Got News for You' ...

Mark Watson Mark Andrew Watson (born 13 February 1980) is a British comedian and novelist. Early life Watson was born in Bristol to a Welsh mother and English father. He has younger twin sisters and a brother, Paul. He attended Bristol Grammar School, wh ...

Joe Pasquale Joseph Ellis Pasquale (born 20 August 1961) is an English comedian, actor and television presenter. He won the fourth series of '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!'' in 2004 and participated in the eighth series of ''Dancing on Ice'' ...

Greg Davies Gregory Daniel Davies ( ; born 14 May 1968) is a Welsh comedian, actor, presenter, and writer. He is best known for his roles as Greg in ''We Are Klang'', Mr Gilbert in ''The Inbetweeners'', Ken Thompson in ''Cuckoo'', the Taskmaster in '' Tas ...

and

Phil Cool Phil Cool (born Philip Martin; April 1948)Neville Thurlbeck"Phil Cool reveals why he’s ready to bow out of touring " ''Wales Online'', 29 March 2013. Retrieved 19 May 2013.York Membery"Who'd have thought it... Phil Cool is not at all averse to ...

. Organisers claim that 5,388 tickets of a target of 5,600 were sold and that the festival had become a commercial success as well as an annual highlight for the creative community. In the 2010 the festival was voted Hull's second favourite festival by users of Karoo.co.uk and was short listed in the Visit Hull and East Yorkshire Remarkable Tourism Awards]. A week of events at the I-Scream creates a festival venue to big success. John Gilbert hands the festival over to a successor.

2011

The festival ran from 21 October to 21 November under the new direction of Rich Quelch, who took over as festival director with assistance from creative consultants C69 Comedy (RTCE Productions) Performers included Tim Minchin,

Tommy Tiernan Tommy Tiernan (; born 16 June 1969) is an Irish comedian, actor, and writer. He is best known for hosting ''The Tommy Tiernan Show'' (2017–present) and playing Gerry in the sitcom ''Derry Girls'' (2018–2022). Early life Tiernan was born in ...

Andy Parsons Andrew John Parsons (born 30 November 1966) is an English comedian and writer. He regularly appeared on ''Mock the Week'' from Series 3 to Series 14. With comedy partner Henry Naylor, he has written and presented nine series of ''Parsons and Na ...

Paul Zerdin Paul Zerdin (born 21 August 1972) is a British comedian and ventriloquist from London. He was the winner of the 10th season of ''America's Got Talent''. Early life When Zerdin was 10, a family friend made him a puppet theatre which he used ...

Lee Hurst Lee Hurst (born 16 October 1962) is an English comedian. Hurst was a regular panellist on the comedy sports quiz ''They Think It's All Over'' from 1995 to 1997. Career Hurst took up comedy after being employed in a number of jobs after leav ...

and

Jerry Sadowitz Jerry Sadowitz (born June 1961) is an American-born Scottish stand-up comedian and magician. Notorious for his frequently controversial brand of black comedy, Sadowitz has said that audiences going to see a comedian should suspend their beliefs ...

, however there where other acts also.

2012

The Festival ran from 20 October 2012 to 23 November 2012. This year's Comedy Festival included, Performers

Rhod Gilbert Rhodri Paul Gilbert (born 18 October 1968) is a Welsh comedian and television & radio presenter who was nominated in 2005 for the Perrier Best Newcomer Award. In 2008 he was nominated for the main comedy award (as the Edinburgh Comedy Awards w ...

Hairy Bikers The Hairy Bikers are collectively David Myers and Si King. The pair of British celebrity chefs have presented numerous television shows, mostly for the BBC but also for the Good Food channel, that combine cooking with a motorcycling travel ...

Stewart Francis Stewart Francis is a Canadian comedian, actor and writer. In addition to his work in Canada and the US, he frequently tours in the UK and appears on British television. Both of Francis' parents are British. Francis was born in Saint Joseph's ...

Kevin Bridges Kevin Andrew Bridges (born 13 November 1986) is a Scottish stand-up comedian. His 2012 television series '' Kevin Bridges: What's the Story?'' was based on his stand-up routines. He has appeared on many television panel shows including '' Would ...

Vikki Stone Vikki Stone is a British composer, comedian, actress and musician. Early life Stone went to Rugby High School, and then won a flute scholarship to go to Wells Cathedral School for the sixth form. In 1997 she became a flautist for the National ...

and

. There were over 10,000 tickets sold, and thousands of pounds were raised for charity.

2013

This year the festival returned with a fresh new face now under the direction of C69 Comedy (RTCE Productions). It ran from 1 to 17 November 2013 with performers including

Jack Dee James Andrew Innes Dee (born 24 September 1961), known professionally as Jack Dee, is an English stand-up comedian, actor, presenter and writer known for his sarcasm, irony and deadpan humour. He wrote and starred in the sitcom ''Lead Balloon'' ...

Alan Davies Alan Roger Davies (; born 6 March 1966) is an English stand-up comedian, writer, actor and TV presenter. He is best known for his portrayal of the title role in the BBC mystery drama series ''Jonathan Creek'' (1997–2016) and as the only perm ...

Josh Widdicombe Joshua Michael Widdicombe (; born 8 April 1983) is an English comedian, presenter and actor. He is best known for his appearances on ''The Last Leg'' (2012–present), ''Fighting Talk'' (2014–2016), ''Insert Name Here'' (2016–2019), ''Mock t ...

, Jonny & The Baptists,

Tony Law Tony Law (born 20 September 1969) is a Canadian stand-up comedian. Originally from Lacombe, Alberta, he has been based in London, United Kingdom since the age of 19. He is known for his surreal material and delivery. Many of his stand-up routine ...

and

Sean Lock Sean Lock (22 April 1963 – 16 August 2021) was an English comedian and actor. He began his comedy career as a stand-up comedian and in 2000 he won the British Comedy Award, in the category of Best Live Comic, and was nominated for the Perri ...

to name but a few. This is also the first year of the festival's Funny and Free Fringe bringing 18 free shows.

2014

This year Hull Comedy Festival was scaled back, as the lead promoter cancels many of the shows.

Jon Richardson Jon Joel Richardson (born 26 September 1982) is an English comedian. He is known for his appearances on ''8 Out of 10 Cats'' and ''8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown'' and his work as co-host with Russell Howard on BBC 6 Music. He is the presente ...

and Lucy Beaumont are amongst some of the remaining performances. Local acts and fans rallied together to help save the festival and aim to bring it back stronger.

2015

This year, the Festival founder John Gilbert has taken back his role as the director and is being supported by a team of volunteers. It will take place from 1 to 15 November. So far acts such as

Alan Carr Alan Graham Carr (born 14 June 1976) is an English comedian, broadcaster and writer. His breakthrough was in 2001, winning the '' City Life'' Best Newcomer of the Year and the BBC New Comedy Awards. In the ensuing years, Carr's career burgeon ...

Bill Bailey Mark Robert Bailey (born 13 January 1965), known professionally as Bill Bailey, is an English musician, comedian and actor. He is known for his role as Manny in the sitcom ''Black Books'' and his appearances on the panel shows ''Never Mind the ...

Dara Ó Briain Dara Ó Briain ( , ; born 4 February 1972) is an Irish comedian and television presenter based in the United Kingdom. He is noted for performing stand-up comedy shows all over the world and for hosting topical panel shows such as ''Mock the We ...

Horrible Histories ''Horrible Histories'' is an educational entertainment franchise encompassing many media including books, magazines, audio books, stage shows, TV shows, and more. In 2013, Lisa Edwards, UK publishing and commercial director of Scholastic Corpora ...

Alfie Moore Alfred Ernest Moore (December 1, 1904 – June 29, 1979) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender. Moore played 16 seasons of professional ice hockey between 1925 and 1942, including 21 games in the National Hockey League with the Chicag ...

, and

Joe Lycett Joe Harry Lycett, also known by the self-given moniker Mummy, is an English comedian, painter and television presenter. Known for his sardonically camp style, whimsical public stunts and elaborate set designs, Lycett has been described as one ...

, however more are yet to be confirmed.

Tenfootcity Comedian of the Year

This competition started in 2007, and forms part of the festival. There is a cash prize and trophy awarded to the winner.

Winners

* 2017: 1st Friz Frizzle * 2013: 1st Tom Taylor * 2012: 1st Hayley Ellis * 2011: 1st Jay Hampson * 2010: 1st Sam Brady * 2009: 1st Gareth Urwin, 2nd Andrew Ryan * 2008: 1st Sam Gore, 2n
Ben Harland
* 2007: 1st Mick Sergeant

References

External links

Hullcomedy.co.uk - official website
{{Kingston upon Hull, state=collapsed Comedy festivals in England Culture in Kingston upon Hull Festivals in the East Riding of Yorkshire Tourist attractions in Kingston upon Hull