New partnership adds to confidence

Brighton Dome Comedy Festival more than doubled its attendance from its first year to its second, and it’s hoping to do the same again in its third year this year – especially as it now comes, as the organisers say, “in cahoots” with Brighton Komedia.

Rosie Crane, head of programme at Brighton Dome, is delighted at the way the festival has developed so quickly and so successfully, rapidly establishing itself, moving from just one weekend in 2024 to nine days now including two weekends (October 16-25).

“The whole idea goes back a really long time, long before we shut down the venues for redevelopment, and we also had Covid of course. It was a much longer birth than we were expecting! But I always had it in mind to create a festival much like the (May) Brighton Festival really. The Comedy Festival takes a lot of inspiration from that. I wanted it to be really rooted in the city and include a lot of local organisations and a lot of local comedians. We are very fortunate that we've got a lot of comedians living in Brighton!

“There used to be a bigger comedy festival in Brighton. It was run by an external company and it was really successful for a time. It finished around 2012 but we didn't have any say in the programming of it. But what we wanted to do was create something that was much smaller and much more bespoke and had a much wider range of funny things happening. I didn't want it to be just about stand-up. There are so many different ways to be funny. There is clowning and there is improv and there is literature. My hope is one day we might incorporate more dance and actually be more theatre-leaning as well.

“In 2024 it was just within our venues but it was really successful. Everybody loved the fact that there was something to come to that wasn't just stand-up. I think we had about 20 events over three days but it quickly expanded to nine days and now includes the two weekends. It's got a lot of layers to it, but the big thing that we have done this year is bring in Komedia. The idea was always to start small and find out what people wanted and just to let it grow across the city.

“Komedia is a brilliant comedy venue. They really understand comedy. As a grassroots comedy venue they have so much understanding of what people want to come and see and of how to develop emerging comedians. It has been such a lovely partnership between us. They have been really lovely to work with, and it's a real partnership in the sense that we are making sure we don't put on similar things at the same time so that we are genuinely supportive of what the other is doing.

“Last year we more than doubled attendance from the first year, and this year we hope to do the same especially now with Komedia involved. What I'm hoping is that a Fringe grows around it so that we really do become rooted in the national comedy festivals. It just feels really great at the moment. It feels solid, and the comedians really enjoy coming to our Comedy Festival. They love Brighton audiences anyway. I think comedians really feel at home with us. We have really supportive audiences that are really happy to get behind the comedians that we offer them.

“And we caption every show. We have this incredible team of stenographers that live-caption every show for us. I just don't understand how they do it! But I think it all helps create a lovely festival feeling, and sometimes the comedians will actually start to interact with the captioners as well.”

Rosie feels that nine days with two weekends is probably the right length now for the festival: “What I would hope is that it will grow across the city rather than getting longer. I hope it will keep growing in that way.”

And what will help it is the fact that it comes relatively soon after Edinburgh: “There will be lots of great things that follow on from Edinburgh, I think.”

Among the highlights this year:

· All My Friends daytime disco makes its Brighton debut, hosted and DJ’d by podcasters Elis James, John Robins and Dave Masterman

· Comedians Simon Amstell and Lara Ricote and sketch writer John Crace join the bill, which also includes Brighton’s own Maisie Adam, BAFTA Award-winning Tom Davis and a live recording of The Blindboy Podcast

· Family-friendly comedy abounds, with the return of swear-free stand-up showcase Live at Brighton Dome BLEEPED and Brighton Dome favourites Shelf performing a child-friendly sketch show