Join us for a wonderful two day celebration of comedy at The Quarry Theatre at St. Luke’s. There is comedy for all ages so something for everyone!

The Cutlery Crew: Banging Fun Stuff

The Cutlery Crew returns to Bedford after a successful Edinburgh Fringe Festival. But a crime has been committed and all hope rests with PC Pauline, a worrisome policewoman searching for suspects. Don’t let her gangliness fool you. There is a cunning mind buried deep, deep down inside her. She can twirl and jump through a hoop and bang stuff. She was shortlisted for Policewoman of the Year 1999. But her fate is in your hands! 

Comedian’s Cinema Club: Dirty Dancing

To celebrate Dirty Dancing’s 30th anniversary year, The Quarry Theatre and Bedford Film Festival bring this iconic 80’s film to the stage on behalf of The Comedian’s Cinema Club! Prepare to have ‘the time of your life’!

Watch some of the UK’s best comedians come together and take on one of the most iconic 80’s films ever made! You are going to be in for a treat!

Being a fan of movies, and having main roles in upcoming feature lengths for the big screen, AmStarDam, Moonwalkers, and Valerian, it only seemed natural to Eric Lampaert “uniquely talented stand up and expert improviser” to combine his love of films and comedy into one, bringing you Comedians Cinema Club.

Kiri Pritchard-Mclean: Hysterical Woman

Chortle Award-nominated comedian Kiri Pritchard McLean performs her inadvisably ambitious debut hour, tackling genetics, gender and being a comedian who happens to be a woman. Also, she sticks her white, middle class nose into racial inequality. (I know, it has nothing to do with her, but she won’t be told.)

Join her for an hour of whipsmart stand-up that’s as funny as it is clever – or turn up to see if she commits an accidental hate crime. ‘One to look out for’ (Leicester Mercury).

Bouncers

This multi-award winning play by John Godber originally appeared at the 1977 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. It’s been revived and adapted countless times since its first incarnation due to its popularity and the timelessness of the subject-matter and themes.

Bouncers tells the tale of one night in a Yorkshire disco. Originally set in the 1980s this new vision of the play takes on modern cultural references and will bring the action right up to date.

It’s Saturday night. All the gang are out on the town, the girls, the cheesy DJ, pumping tunes and they’re all under the watchful eye of the Bouncers; Lucky Eric, Judd, Les and Ralph are the original ‘Men in Black’!

This amateur production of Bouncers is performed by arrangement with Samuel French.

Story Pocket Theatre: Storyteller, Storyteller

What happens when two children’s storytellers arrive at the same place at the same time to tell their stories? And what happens if both of them think they are THE Storyteller? A head to head that leads to a feast of clowning, physical silliness and some magical non-verbal storytelling, that’s what! Family fun from the winners of the Primary Times Children’s Choice Award, 2014 and the Three Weeks Editors’ Choice Award at Edinburgh Fringe 2015.

Tricky Teddy’s Easter Magic Show

A show for all the family, Tricky Teddy’s Easter Magic Show features mind boggling Magic, knockabout comedy and great fun with audience interaction. Award winning Krisgar and sidekick Tricky Teddy are back at the Bedford Quarry Theatre after last year’s sell out show to bring you this perfect Magical Easter treat.  Produced by Krisgar Entertainments especially for the Bedford Comedy Festival 2017, you won’t want to miss out on this egg-cellent show!

Story Pocket Theatre: Patrick Monahan’s Pub Quiz For Kids

A runaway hit at the 2016 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, this brand new family fun quiz is unlike anything you have seen before. Hosted by one of the UK’s favourite stand-ups, this quiz will go where no quiz has gone before.

Story knowledge and music rounds mix with the mystery round where we know the questions but only one person can know the answer. And that person’s in the audience. Confused? So are we!

You may not learn very much general knowledge but you’ll definitely find out a thing or two about the people sitting near you – and maybe yourself as well! Fantastic fun for the whole family together. So, prepare for fierce competition, lots of laughs…but very few prizes.

Kids With Beards: The Curse Of The Secret Ham

The Brighton-based beardy babes are back, baby. We’ve brought with us an hour of surreal, fast-paced sketch comedy ridiculousness for your delectation, so tuck in. It’s not a kids show, though. Just because it has the word ‘kids’ in it doesn’t mean it’s for kids, in the same way that Silence of the Lambs isn’t really about quiet sheep. So don’t bring little Jimmy with you or he’ll never be the same again and you’ll be wracked with hate and self-loathing forever. Do come along though, it’ll be fun, we promise.

Jonny & The Baptists: Eat The Poor

Three quarters of MPs are millionaires. A third of the country lives below the poverty line. Whatever your politics, Jonny & the Baptists think it’s worth talking about.

A riotously funny epic about friendship, inequality and betrayal from the multi-award-nominated musical comedians, as featured on Radio 4’s The Now Show and the BBC’s Live at Television Centre.

Setting out to explore the gap between rich and poor, Jonny & the Baptists’ lives turn upside down when Jonny betrays Paddy for financial gain. As Jonny enjoys the highlife with Andrew Lloyd Webber and Jerry Hall, Paddy falls into homelessness and despair.

The Pretend Men: Work In Progress

Warm up provided by Bedford Castle Comedy Legend Paul Revill!

The Pretend Men’s debut show Police Cops premiered to critical acclaim at Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2015, and has since taken the world by storm. The show has scooped 7 awards including ‘The Stage Award for Acting Excellence’ and ‘The Cape Town Fringe Best International Show’; has enjoyed a total sellout run at The Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2016 ; has toured both nationally and internationally to play to Australian, Polish and South African audiences and has sold out both its runs on London’s West End at the Soho Theatre.

The Pretend Men now present their first ever scratch presentation of their highly anticipated new play. This 20 minute extract of the trio’s latest work features the company’s trademark blend of supercharged physical theatre, cinematic style and gut-busting comedy… See it here first!

Castle Comedy: April Fools Of Comedy

Bedford’s No.1 Comedy Club returns to The Quarry Theatre.

Castle Comedy presents ‘April Fools of Comedy’ as part of The Quarry Theatre Comedy Festival on April 1st.  This show celebrates silliness, buffoonery and nonsense by bringing together the UK’s premier stand-up comedy clowns!

Ivan Brackenbury………he’s bonkers! Ivan is the creation of “Fosters Comedy God” Tom Binns. Tom wrote and starred in his own BBC Comedy Playhouse Special ‘Hospital People’ in 2016, which has now been commissioned for a full series on BBC1. Undoubtedly the star of the show is Ivan, he is a daft, inept yet adorable radio DJ who takes you on a hilarious broadcasting journey. Ivan captures the fun and excitement you’d expect from being in hospital, with games, giveaways, patient requests and his special blend of music and chat.

PLEASE NOTE: The Comedy Festival programme is subject to change. Please check the website before booking.