Meet the acts performing at our Live at the RSC Festival.

Orchestra of the Swan's Red Sky at Sunrise: Laurie Lee in Words & Music
Wednesday 31 May, 7.15pm
Red Sky at Sunrise follows Lee's extraordinary journey through his much-loved trilogy, Cider with Rosie, As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning and A Moment of War, from growing up in Gloucestershire, to fighting with the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War. Laurie Lee is performed by Anton Lesser and Charlie Hamblett, with music from Orchestra of The Swan, featuring Mark Ashford on guitar.

Charlie Baker, Nina Conti, and Rachel Parris 
Thursday 1 June, 7.15pm
Some of stand-up comedy’s best and brightest take to the stage for the opening night of the comedy programme. Join our incomparable MC Charlie Baker (as seen on The Last Leg and The Great British Bake Off: Extra Slice, as heard on TalkSport) as he presents our two incredible performers Nina Conti and Rachel Parris. 

Ian Smith, Mark Watson, Fern Brady, Zoe Lyons, and Sarah Keyworth
Friday 2 June, 7.15pm
What better way to round out the week than with a huge line up of some of the best comedians in the land. Delightful Yorkshireman Ian Smith (as heard on his own BBC Radio 4 comedy documentary) hosts Taskmaster stars Mark Watson and Fern Brady as well as Zoe Lyons (as heard on BBC’s News Quiz, The Now Show) and Sarah Keyworth (as seen on BBC One’s Live at the Apollo). 

Reasons to the Cheerful with Ed Miliband & Geoff Lloyd
Saturday 3 June, 2pm 
Former Labour leader Ed Miliband and award-winning broadcaster and Succession podcaster Geoff Lloyd join forces with some of the world's most innovative thinkers and passionate campaigners to dive into a big problem facing society and how to solve it. 

For five years, Ed and Geoff have explored ground-breaking ideas to reshape society, from battling the climate crisis to reimagining our working lives, economy and education system. What's next for the benign dictatorship, the Geoff-ocracy? 

Ivo Graham, Rhys James, Jessica Fostekew, Celya AB, Tadiwa Mahlunge
Saturday 3 June, 7.15pm
We’ve got the perfect night of comedy sorted for your Saturday. Leading the charge is our fantastic MC Ivo Graham (as seen on BBC One’s Live at the Apollo and appearing in the next season of Taskmaster). Joining him will be Rhys James (as seen as a series regular on Mock The Week), Edinburgh Comedy Award Best Show Nominee Jessica Fostekew and two of the rising stars of comedy Celya AB and Tadiwa Mahlunge.

Austentatious – An Improvised Jane Austen Novel
Sunday 4 June, 2.30pm
Austentatious – An Improvised Jane Austen Novel, the award-winning smash-hit comedy, as seen in the West End and heard on Radio 4, closes out the festival. The all-star Austentatious cast will improvise a hilarious new Jane Austen novel, inspired entirely by a title from the audience.

Recommended age guidance for our live comedy shows is 15+, while Austentatious is suitable for those aged 12+. 

Orchestra of the Swan

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Red Sky at Sunrise: Laurie Lee in Words & Music
Red Sky at Sunrise follows Lee's extraordinary journey through his much-loved trilogy, Cider with Rosie, As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning and A Moment of War, from growing up in Gloucestershire, to fighting with the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War. Laurie Lee is performed by Anton Lesser and Charlie Hamblett, with music from Orchestra of The Swan, featuring Mark Ashford on guitar.

Orchestra of the Swan

Formed in 1995, Orchestra of the Swan is a British chamber orchestra which, under the artistic direction of David Le Page, is passionate about audience inclusivity and blurring the lines between genres, through its adventurous and accessible programming.

Presenting over 45 concerts a year – both live and digital with a catalogue of over 29 recordings, the Swan is passionate about new music and has premiered more than 70 new works by composers including Joe Cutler, Tansy Davies, Joe Duddell, Alexander Goehr, Roxanna Panufnik, Joseph Phibbs, Dobrinka Tabakova, Errollyn Wallen, Huw Watkins, John Woolrich and many others.

The Swan's recent mixtape albums Timelapse, Vivaldi Sleep and Labyrinths have broken the mould of classical recordings, reaching a new 8 million-strong global digital audience.

The Swan has been enormously successful in making a positive and effective contribution to the communities at the heart of its ‘immersive residencies’ in Herefordshire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire and Birmingham with an ambitious programme of work in care homes, schools and rural areas growing year by year.

Based at the Warwick Schools’ Foundation in Warwick, the Swan is proof that an orchestra really can be an indispensable and relevant part of the community with its aim to entertain, educate and engage in a way that truly makes it a living orchestra.

“The individuality of The Swan is beyond doubt.” Classical Explorer

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Anton Lesser

Anton Lesser

Anton Lesser is one of our best-loved actors. An associate of the RSC, Anton’s renowned body of work includes theatre, film and TV, including Endeavour, the BBC’s Wolf Hall (Sir Thomas More), The Crown (Harold Macmillan), Game of Thrones and Andor. Anton also has one of the country’s best-known voices, thanks to his extensive work with BBC Radio (Falco) and audiobooks, including most of Dickens’ novels. His recording of Great Expectations won him a Talkie Award. Anton’s majestic Paradise Lost featured on the BBC’s recent epic series, Art That Made Us. 

Nina Conti

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Nina has won a British Comedy Award for storming Live at the Apollo, Russell Howard's Good News,'Sunday Night at the Palladium and made a BAFTA nominated film - all without even moving her lips.

Nina began her career as an actor at the Royal Shakespeare Company before the genius, and anarchic theatre director Ken Campbell inspired her to become a ventriloquist. In 2008 she won the prestigious Barry Award at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival for her solo show Complete and Utter Conti. In 2010, Talk to the Hand had sell-out seasons in Edinburgh, London, Melbourne, the Sydney Opera House and New York.

Other television credits include QI, The John Bishop Show and Chris O'Dowd's HBO series Family Tree. She is also a regular in Clare and the Community – the Sony award-winning show on BBC Radio 4.

Nina has turned her hand to documentary film-making with her most recent exploit, Clowning Around (in which she trained as a children's hospital clown), airing to great critical acclaim. Her directorial debut' Her Master's Voice in which she took the bereaved puppets of her mentor, Ken Campbell, to a puppet graveyard in Kentucky, won her a BAFTA nomination and a Grierson Award.

Nina is currently on tour with The Dating Show, travelling around the UK.

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Mark Watson

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Edinburgh Festival Award Winner and Time Out Critic’s Choice, Mark’s recent TV credits include QI (BBC2) Taskmaster (Dave) and Bear Grylls’ Celebrity Island (Channel 4).

Mark has been the face of shows such as BBC Four’s We Need Answers and BBC Radio 4’s Mark Watson Makes The World Substantially Better. He has also appeared on Mock The Week, Celebrity PointlessHave I Got News For You, Would I Lie To You?, Live At The Apollo and Channel 4’s Comedy Gala. 

 

Not only a stand-up, Mark has written seven novels: Bullet Points (2004), A Light-Hearted Look At Murder (2007), Eleven (2010), The Knot (2012), Hotel Alpha (2014), The Place That Didn’t Exist (2016) and Contacts (2020). In 2017, his graphic novel Dan and Sam was purchased by Amblin, Steven Spielberg’s studio, for a possible film adaptation.  In 2020 he arranged and hosted The Watsonathon, a 24 Hour online show which raised over £44,000 in aide of FareShare, Hospice Income Generation Network, and the Nextup Comedy Heckle The Virus fund. He will also be on tour with his latest show, How You Can Almost Win, which was inspired by his time on Bear Gryll’s Celebrity Island.

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Zoe Lyons

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Host of BBC2’s Lightning and Live at the Apollo, and guest co-host of Sunday Morning Live (BBC1) and The Frank Skinner radio show (Absolute Radio). A regular on Have I Got News for You (BBC1), QI (BBC2), and Mock the Week (BBC2).

TV also includes a special on Alopecia for Women’s Health (C5) and a feature on The One Show (BBC1), Celebrity Antiques Road Trip (BBC2), Stand Up and Deliver (C4), House of Games (BBC2), Funny Festival Live (BBC2), Guessable (Comedy Central), The Apprentice: You’re Fired (BBC2), Hypothetical (Dave), Between the Covers (BBC2), Celebrity Eggheads (BBC2), University Challenge The Graduates (BBC2), The Blame Game (BBC1 NI), The Dog Ate My Homework (CBBC), Dave Gorman’s Terms and Conditions Apply (Dave), Pointless Celebrities (BBC1), The One Show (BBC1), Room 101 (BBC2) Alan Davies As Yet Untitled (Dave) and the winner of Celebrity Mastermind (BBC1).

Zoe is an immediately recognisable voice on Radio 4. A regular on The News Quiz, Just a Minute, The Unbelievable Truth and The Now Show, plus her own four part series Passport Paddy. Radio also includes Breaking the News, The Good the Bad and the Unexpected, Fred MacAulay at The Stand, The Frank Skinner Show and The Jason Manford Show. Podcasts include Walking the Dog, An Hour or So with Sue Perkins, James Acaster Stay Home Special Series and The Guilty Feminist.

Zoe is a regular at the Edinburgh Festival with shows such as, Entry Level Human, Mustard Cutter and Little Miss Misfit, all of which have toured the UK and been praised by critics and audiences alike. She has also performed at the Melbourne Comedy Festival, Latitude, Kilkenny and Pride Festivals. She also hosts her own award winning monthly comedy night in Brighton – Bent Double.

Zoe is an award winning stand-up, winner of Dave’s Joke of the Fringe, Comedian’s Comedian of the Year, and The Funny Women Award, as well as being nominated for the Edinburgh Best Newcomer Comedy Award.

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Tadiwa Mahlunge

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Billed as “one of the country's top new comedy acts” by The York Press, Tadiwa Mahlunge has performed at, among others, the Latitude, Greenman, and Greenwich Comedy Festivals - alongside the biggest names in comedy - and has provided tour support for Kiri Pritchard-McLean and Jessica Fostekew, and TV warm up for Desiree Birch’s Amazon Prime special.

As seen on BBC 1, BBC 2, Dave, Comedy Central, UTV, Comic Relief and heard on BBC Radio 4, BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Northampton and BBC Sounds - Tadiwa Mahlunge has established himself as one of comedy’s hottest prospects. As such, he featured on the 2022 Pleasance Comedy Reserve at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

“Fearless comedian on the rise.” - Daniel Kaluuya

“Tadiwa has been gathering pace as a prodigious act and landing a highly sought after spot on the Pleasance Reserve has cemented his star in the making status” - Kiri Pritchard-McLean

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Jessica Fostekew

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Jessica Fostekew is a comedian, actor and writer whose stand up show, Hench was nominated for the 2019 Edinburgh Comedy Award for Best Show. It's now available as a stand up special on Amazon Prime and has been adapted into the BBC R4 stand up special - Powerhouse.

Jessica's credits are numerous, she has appeared on BBC2's Live at The Apollo, QI, Richard Osman's House Of Games, Dave Gorman's Modern Life is Goodish, Comedy Central's Pep Talks and more. She is also co-host of The Guilty Feminist (podcast with 60 million+ downloads) and host and creator of foodie hit and new chart-topping pod, Hoovering (recommended in the Guardian and The Independent).

Jessica has co-written and stars in Real Friends, a new special for Sky. She also has a new BBC Radio 4 series, Strong Girls Club commissioned for release in 2023.

As an actor, she’s amassed a slew of impressive credits, including; Avoidance (with Romesh Ranganathan), The Trouble With Maggie Cole, Cuckoo (BBC/ Netflix), Motherland, Out of Her Mind, Trigonometry and BAFTA multiple-award winning BBC drama, Three Girls. You can catch her in the feature films, Official Secrets from Gavin Hood and Greed from Michael Winterbottom.

You can also hear her regularly on BBC Radio 4 & 4 Extra on The Comedy Club, Museum of Curiosity, The News Quiz and The Podcast Radio Hour.

Jessica's writing credits include two script commissions from the BBC, her own Radio 4 special as well as writing on a raft on popular TV shows including; Cats Does Countdown, Mock The Week and many other topical and entertainment shows.

"A new fiercely funny strain of comedy that’s her own" The Independent

"A loud, lively and vital voice" The Evening Standard

"Wears her smarts on her sleeve, great stuff" The Guardian

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Ivo Graham

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Despite extensive grooming for more serious careers at Eton and Oxford, Ivo Graham has spent his entire adult life on the comedy circuit, establishing himself as, if not the UK’s poshest, then certainly its most apologetically posh comedian. With a bumbling charm to snare audiences of all ages, he’s sold out six runs at the Edinburgh Fringe, the latest of which was nominated for the prestigious Best Show award in 2019, and appeared on TV shows including Have I Got News for You, QI, The Last Leg, Mock the Week and Live at the Apollo.

Ivo can be heard on BBC Radio 4’s The Now Show, The News Quiz, and the drama Unite. He is also a writer on BBC 5 Live’s Fighting Talk, Channel 4’s The Last Leg and Jack Whitehall: Christmas With My Father.  Ivo starred in the brand-new 2021 comedy series British as Folk (Dave/UKTV) which saw him travel across the nation with co-hosts and fellow comics Fern Brady and Darren Harriott, exploring British class and culture.  He is currently filming the new series of Channel 4’s Taskmaster.

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Ed Miliband and Geoff Lloyd

RTBC Ed & Geoff

 

Ed Miliband is the MP for Doncaster North and Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. He served as Leader of the Labour Party from 2010 to 2015 and Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change from 2008 to 2010.

Geoff Lloyd is a multi award-winning radio host and podcaster. Best known for his time at Virgin/Absolute Radio, Geoff has recently hosted shows for BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC Radio 6Music, and Sirius XM in the States.

 

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Austentatious

Austen landscape

The award-winning smash-hit comedy, as seen in the West End and heard on Radio 4. The all-star Austentatious cast will improvise a hilarious new Jane Austen novel, inspired entirely by a title from the audience. Performed in period costume with live musical accompaniment, it’s a riotous, razor-sharp show where swooning is guaranteed.

The revolving Austentatious cast include numerous, award-winning TV and Radio starring performers, including Rachel Parris (The Mash Report, Live at the Apollo), Cariad Lloyd (QI, Inside No.9, Griefcast, The Witchfinder), Joseph Morpurgo (Radio 4, Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee), Andrew Hunter Murray (No Such Thing As A Fish) and more.

‘Ridiculously silly…wickedly funny’ ★★★★★ The Times

‘A joy to behold’ ★★★★ The Guardian

‘Brilliant, barmy improv’ ★★★★ The Telegraph

‘Sheer unbridled silliness’ ★★★★ Evening Standard

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Charlie Hamblett

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Charlie Hamblett grew up in Stratford-upon-Avon. He began his career on stage in Michael Boyd’s Histories Cycle. His West End credits include The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui and The Tempest. His extensive film and TV work includes Killing Eve, Macbeth, Around the World in Eighty Days with David Tennant, Grantchester, and The Secret Agent with Vicky McClure and Toby Jones. He’s currently filming Ghosts, Mrs Sidhu Investigates, and The Burning Girls. 

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Mark Ashford

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Mark Ashford is stunning audiences around the world with his unique lyricism and utter conviction to the guitar and it’s music.

Born in Northampton, England, Mark began his formal musical training at Chetham’s School of Music with Gordon Crosskey. He then went on to study with Michael Lewin as a scholarship student at the Royal Academy of Music, from where he graduated in 1993 with first class honours and awards from the Principal. During the following few years Mark completed his studies in Spain with guitarist David Russell, thanks to bursay’s awarded to him from the Countess of Munster Musical Trust, Allcard grants and the Royal Academy of Music.

Early on in his performing career Mark became a laureate of several major national and international competitions including Radio Two’s Young Musician,  the Julian Brean Prize, South East Arts  Music Platform Award, the Guitar Foundation of America, the Scandinavian International Guitar Competition, and the Alessandria International Guitar Competition, Italy.  After winning the Radio 2 Competition Mark’s career really took off performing regular live recitals on the BBC as a soloist and with the BBC Concert Orchestra.  He was also given his own hour long showcase programme, broadcast live on the radio.

He has now performed at many of the UK’s most prestigious  music venues, including the Wigmore Hall, South Bank Centre, Fairfield Halls, St George’s-Bristol, Bridgewater Hall-Manchester, Sage-Gateshead and the Queen’s Hall-Edinburgh.  Performances have also taken him to France, Spain, Italy, Finland, Holland, Hungary, Germany, Poland, U.S.A, Cuba and Barbados.

As a concerto soloist Mark has performed with many leading Orchestras including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra, London Concertante and the Turin Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of such eminent conductors as Carl Davis, Christopher Warren-Green, Barry Wordsworth and Ignacio Yepes.

Mark has recorded nine CD’s including a recording of Rodrigo’s ‘Concierto de Aranjuez’  with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Nicholas Cleobury.  This led to a most successful promotion tour around the UK with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.  His latest CD is with the  Vida Guitar Quartet (Mark Eden, Amanda Cook & Chris Stell) entitled ‘The Leaves be Green’ with music by Vaughan Williams, Britten, Elgar, Dodgson and Bowers.  With the quartet he regularly tours the US and in 2015 they gave the opening concert at the Guitar Foundation of America in Oklahoma City.

He regularly gives masterclasses at Intenational Festivals and the leading Conservatoires of Music and he is currently head of guitar at the Birmingham Conservatoire of Music.  In 2003 he was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music having achieved distinction in the profession.

Ian Smith

Ian Smith - Photo by Ed MooreIan Smith is a multi-award-winning comedian, actor and writer. He has appeared on BBC Fresh From the Fringe, BBC3 panel show Sweat the Small Stuff and BBC Radio 4’s The Now Show.

Ian’s Edinburgh Fringe shows have received critical acclaim, an Amused Moose Comedy Award, ThreeWeeks Editors’ Award, various nominations and runs at Soho Theatre.  His last three shows have seen him invited to perform at New Zealand Comedy Festival, and perform at the prestigious New Zealand Comedy Gala (TVNZ). This year Ian will also be travelling to Adelaide and Melbourne Comedy Festivals as part of Best of the Edinburgh Fest.

Ian is a regular writer on The News Quiz, The Now Show and Newsjack (BBC Radio 4). He’s also written two of his own web series – Hope You Come Up Here and the Chortle Award nominated 100 Reasons to Hate… His debut Radio 4 show, the comedy documentary Girl Stuck in a Basketball Hoop was broadcasted in May.

“A riot of sprightly silliness” ★★★★ Chortle

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Celya AB

Celya AB - Rachel Sherlock 

Parisian Celya moved from the French capital to Birmingham. She is one of comedy’s most exciting breakthrough voices. Celya’s magnetic stage presence and brilliantly crafted material has been seen on Comedy Central and the BBC.

‘A strong debut hour by a comic shooting to fame.’ ★★★★ List

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Charlie Baker

Charlie Baker

Charlie Baker’s versatile talents as a stand-up comedian, actor, and highly acclaimed jazz-singer have seen him earn a reputation as ‘a superior take on the modern showman’ (The Guardian). Baker has appeared on shows such as Richard Osman’s House of Games, The Last Leg, Harry Hill’s Tea Time, Comedy Central at the Comedy Store, The Great British Bake-Off: An Extra Slice, Never Mind The Buzzcocks, Edinburgh Comedy Fest Live, The Dog Ate My Homework and Channel 4’s Comedy Gala.

An avid sports fan, Charlie can be heard on Talksport every Saturday for the Game Day Warm Up as well as covering on weekdays on Hawksbee and Jacobs, which has built him a huge and loyal following.

2022 saw Baker star in the leading role in Harry Hill’s Tony! [The Tony Blair Rock Opera] at London’s Park Theatre.

Previous acting credits include Four Weddings and a Funeral, Back, The IT Crowd and Miranda. Baker has also starred in Vexed, Eastenders, Doctor Who and feature film The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas.

Charlie has proven himself a staple act of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival since his debut solo hour in 2009 which won him the Mervyn Stutter Spirit of the Fringe Award. This led to sell-out runs with four shows. Charlie is currently supporting Jack Dee on his tour and is also working on his own brand-new stand-up show.

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Rachel Parris

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Rachel Parris is an award-winning musical comedian, actor, improviser, and presenter. She was nominated for BAFTA for Best Entertainment Performance in 2019 and beat Tiffany Haddish, Ellen DeGeneres, and Amy Schumer to become Female First’s Comedian of the Year 2018.

Her incisive and hilarious segments on the hit BBC2 series The Mash Report have been worldwide viral smash hits all across social media, firmly establishing her as a breakout comedy star.

More recently her Lockdown LipSync videos have been a huge hit online during the Coronavirus lockdown and have also featured on Home Alone (BBC 2) and Good Morning America (ABC).

Rachel has also appeared on Live at the Apollo (BBC 2), QI (BBC 2), Would I Lie To You (BBC 1), Mock The Week (BBC 2), Hypothetical (Dave), Impossible Celebrities (BBC 1), Harry Hill's Clubnite (C4), The Big Narstie Show (C4), Comedians Giving Lectures (Dave), Richard Osman's House of Games (BBC1), Zoe Ball on Saturday (ITV) and The Graham Norton Show (BBC 1), as well as hosting A Girls' Guide to TV on BBC2.

Rachel is also a much-loved voice on the radio. She is a regular panellist on Radio 4 shows including I’m Sorry I Haven't a Clue, The News Quiz, The Now Show and The Unbelievable Truth and has had two shows of her own on Radio 4: Austensibly Feminist about Jane Austen and Da Da Da Daaaaa about Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony to mark his 250th anniversary.

Rachel is a founding member of the acclaimed improv show Austentatious, which has toured nationally, enjoyed sell-out runs at the Edinburgh Fringe, and a weekly West End residency at the Fortune Theatre.

Rachel has taken many critically acclaimed solo shows to the Edinburgh Fringe, Soho Theatre, and on tour. Her last tour It's Fun To Pretend (2018-19) was extended due to popular demand and culminated in two sold-out shows at London’s Bloomsbury Theatre. Her next show All Change Please will tour the UK in 2021.

As an actor, Rachel has appeared in There She Goes (BBC 4), Plebs (ITV 2), Revolting (BBC 2), The IT Crowd (C4), Count Arthur Strong (BBC 1), Murder in Successville (BBC 3), Russell Howard's Good News (BBC 3) and Trying (Apple TV) and on stage in Death Ship 666, at the Jermyn Street Theatre.

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Sarah Keyworth

Sarah Keyworth WIP 2022 Image credit Matt Crockett

Sarah Keyworth is an award-winning stand-up comedian and writer.

Since first performing stand-up at university, Sarah has fast become one of UK comedy’s brightest new talents. Having already been a Funny Women runner-up, 2018 saw Sarah take her debut hour, Dark Horse, to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. A thoughtful and hilarious meditation on gender, girlhood and the challenges of growing up different, the show was a huge critical hit, receiving four and five star reviews from The Herald, Telegraph, Scotsman and many more. The show also received a Herald Angel Award, a Pleasance Theatre Award and a nomination for Best Newcomer in the Edinburgh Comedy Awards.

Sarah’s broadcasting career is also firmly on the up. She has appeared on BBC2’s Live At The Apollo and Mock The Week, Comedy Central UK’s Roast Battle, ITV2’S Stand Up Sketch Show, performed stand-up on BBC Radio 4 institution The Now Show, and has a number of her own TV and audio ideas in development with a range of production companies and broadcasters. Sarah wrote and performed her own series, Are You A Boy Or A Girl, for BBC Radio 4 and co-hosted hit relationship podcast You’ll Do for BBC Sounds.

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Fern Brady

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Known for being totally unique and completely fearless, her caustic wit, exceptional writing and electric stage craft has made Fern one of the UK’s hottest comedy stars. As seen on Taskmaster, Live from the BBC, British As Folk, The Russell Howard Hour, and Live at the Apollo.

Featured in Vogue as one of the Top 5 Female Comedians as well as the Telegraph’s Top 5 young comedians to watch, Fern’s career has gone stratospheric in the last 18 months. She's become a fan-favourite on the latest season of Taskmaster, had a sell-out tour of the UK with her latest show Autistic Bikini Queen, a sell-out run at the Melbourne Comedy Festival and her debut book Strong Female Character is set to be released in early 2023.

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Rhys James

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Rhys James is an accomplished comedian, writer and actor who you will have seen on Roast Battle (Comedy Central), Russell Howard’s Stand Up Central (Comedy Central), A League of Their Own (Sky One) and Live At The Apollo (BBC Two) and as a regular panellist on Mock The Week (BBC Two). He has performed six solo shows at the Edinburgh Fringe to sell-out audiences and critical acclaim, with his 2019 show Snitch being one of the best reviewed comedy shows at the Edinburgh Fringe. He has had three BBC Radio 4 series, Rhys James is…, Rhys James Isn’t… and Rhysearch, all met with great acclaim and delight of listeners and critics. Rhys also hosts podcast Early Work in which he interviews celebrities about the creative writing they did before they were in their current vocation, guests include O-T Fagbenle, Sara Pascoe, Lolly Adefope and Tom Rosenthal.

He is also known for his prolific Twitter feed which has been recommended in The Telegraph, The Sun, Huffington Post, The Poke and The Gentleman’s Journal among others.

Rhys hosted a weekly show on The Football Republic for two years called Top 10 Football F**k Ups which garnered a weekly audience of well over 150,000 viewers, as well as a weekly segment on BBC2's The Premier League Show called Rhys's Pieces. Other appearances include Sky’s Soccer AM, Football’s Funniest Moments, BBC1’s Football Focus, BT Sport’s Football Tonight, Absolute Radio’s Rock n Roll Football and TalkSport among others. Rhys is also in demand with many social football channels, writing scripts and featuring in videos for Spencer FC, and frequently appearing as a guest on shows for Goal, Ball Street, Sporf, Bleacher Report and more.

"Scintillating stand-up" - The Times ★★★★

"A cut above his humdrum peers." The Independent ★★★★

“An immaculately crafted set… crowd-pleasing, relatable entertainment rarely comes any sharper.” Evening Standard  ★★★★

“A superb tour de force of observational comedy, delivered with punchy, rapid-fire certainty” Chortle ★★★★

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