PACKED venues took in some huge names during this year's Wells Comedy Festival.
The event, which ran across the weekend of May 25 to 27, saw record numbers turn out to catch stars including the likes of Rhod Gilbert, Sara Pascoe, Tim Key and Nish Kumar.
Festival director Ben Williams said: "This year’s Wells Comedy Festival was a huge success – the biggest and best yet.
"The feedback we’ve received from audiences and acts has been overwhelmingly positive.
"A huge thanks to everyone who made it possible – performers, staff, volunteers, venues, partners – we couldn’t have done it without you."
Michael Eavis with Richard Herring
A total of 6,725 tickets were sold for the weekend, the fourth Wells Comedy Festival, with audiences increasing on 2017 by almost 2,000 taking in 66 shows in six venues.
It all kicked off with Friday night’s Opening Gala – with a surprise line-up featuring Sara Pascoe, Nish Kumar and others – and rounded off with the Comedians Cinema Club’s improvised recreation of Wells’ very own Hot Fuzz, as is festival tradition.
Other shows included cult Scottish comic Limmy; Edinburgh Comedy Award-winners Tim Key, Adam Riches and John Kearns; Chaser Paul Sinha, ‘Live at the Apollo’ stars Mark Watson, Dane Baptiste and Spencer Jones; ‘Harry Potter’ actress Jessie Cave; west country hero Jayde Adams and many more.
Glastonbury Festival founder Michael Eavis also dropped in, to be a guest on the Richard Herring podcast, recorded at the festival.
Next year’s festival will take place from May 24 to 26.
For more details and to sign up to the mailing list, log on to www.wellscomfest.com.
Rhod Gilbert
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