Although you can see the actual gigs happening is headfirstbristol, the choice is so big it can be overwhelming- Bristol is a fantastic city, after all, with an amazing number of events every week.
That’s why we’ve created a guide to show you the type of place with the type of act and help you find your fave venues-where you’re guaranteed a great night every time. OR, to help you find something a bit different for a change.
We’ve curated a list of Bristol’s biggest comedy spots and local comedy gold mines! This article also has a sister post about live music in Bristol which you may also enjoy.
Best comedy venues in Bristol
The best comedy shows in bristol can be found at the comedy box (at the hen and chicken on North street),Tthe Wardrobe Theater (Old Market) and the Bristol Improv Theatre (Clifton). These venues offer a mix of local and touring comedy so you’ll see new, upcoming talent as well as more well-known names on the comedy scene.
Bristol’s best spot to catch the most famous comedy stars is The Hippodrome, where you might catch Katherine Ryan, Russel Kane, Dara O’Briain and other A-list names, or, at the Bristol Old Vic, for example, Jessica Fostekew and Sophie Hagan.
| Place | Descriptions and what’s on | Ticket / night types |
| The Bristol Improv Theater | A massive mix- regular, comedy jams- open nic and social. wacky, creative touring shows, and some staples such as shows from the Bristol Improv theatres flagship music theatre group. | Tickets around £10- depending on the gig |
| Mr Wolfs Comedy Club | Mr Wolf’s comedy club- Sundays– 2for1 cocktails pre-show and a DJ afterwards. Quality comedians from all over the country. Rooftop comedy with stars coming from all over the country- very nice, special intimate venue. (Events link) | Comedy for about £5 per table seat (£6-7 per table seat on rooftop)- depending on group size |
| The Room Above (above white bear, St michaels hill) | Produces a lot of internal comedy work and new writing. Some of the best upcoming comedy and UK touring fringe-work. Free ‘new-material’ night every Wednesday. Every other Saturday -best comedic talent across the South-West. And lots of touring comedy sets- or work in progress nights from bigger names- check the what’s on page here. | Free- ~£10 depending on event. |
| The Wardrobe Theater | A more established theater with comedy shows- sometimes theater, sometimes standup with well known names perfecting fringe material- for example- Edinburgh comedy pre-shows. See what’s on here. | Usually around £10, can be more depending on show |
| The Comedy Box | A bigger venue for big names and well-known touring shows- some of the absolute best the UK has to offer. Expect know names on the what’s on page here. | Tickets £10-20…it depends on the size of the event and on the artist |
| The Hippodrome, city centre | The hippodrome will show the biggest, stand-out comedy shows. This is for the A-listers when they make their rounds- book far in advance. | Tickets from around £25 |
| Bristol Old Vic | The Bristol Old Vic is also a fairly big venue that hosts well-known comedians on touring shows. Examples of 2022 shows include- Kevin Bridges, Jessica Fostekew and Sophie Hagan. | Tickets from around £8- £20 for bigger names |
Best local stand-up comedy nights in Bristol
The best local stand-up nights in Bristol are at The Room Above, Comedy at the Greenbank, Hey Dude Bar and Comedy Loft. They can be found in pubs dotted around bristol, see locations below- tickets can mostly be bought on the door, often for under £5. Check out the links below to double-check the event days and times!
| Place | Descriptions and what’s on | Ticket / night types |
| The Inn on The Green | They run a comedy night every 2 weeks- With some performances from comedians and sometimes space for some open mic performances at the end of the show! Events page here. | Free |
| Mr Wolfs Comedy Club | Mr Wolf’s comedy club- Sundays– 2for1 cocktails pre-show and a DJ afterwards. Quality comedians from all over the country. Rooftop comedy with stars coming from all over the country- very nice, special intimate venue. (Events link) | Comedy for about £5 per table seat (£6-7 per table seat on rooftop)- depending on group size |
| Opo Comedy | Stand-up every Thursday at the Barrel house in Bristol. Each show is headlined by a TV star and the rest of the night is full of hand-picked best of upcoming comedy in the southwest! Facebook page link. | Tv headliners at £3 per ticket. Cheap Comedy- great laughs! |
| Hey Dude Bar (King street) | Ye old Comedy club presents local artists for ‘new material’ night every Wednesday– some great talent all in a cosy king street bar. A well-established comedy night. | Tickets £4 online or £5 at the door. |
| The Room Above (above white bear, St michaels hill) | Produces a lot of internal comedy work and new writing. Some of the best upcoming comedy and UK touring fringe-work. Free ‘new-material’ night every Wednesday. Every other Saturday -best comedic talent across the South-West. And lots of touring comedy sets- or work in progress nights from bigger names- check the what’s on page here. | Free- ~£10 depending on event. |
| Comedy at the Greenbank, Easton | Last Thursday of each Monday, Bristols finest Comedians. Arrive a bit early for a table. Facebook page here. | £5 Tickets, pat the the door |
| Southbank, Southville | Bristol Comedy Chest– Stand up comedy night, last Thursday of every month 8 comedians- you vote and the best gets invited back. Usually with a more well known headliner. | £4 tickets for 8 sets (suggest pre-book) |
| The Bristol Fringe, Clifton | Fortnightly Mondy Comedy shows- see what’s on here. | £5 on the door |
| Smoke and Mirrors | Stand up Comedy Monday nights for £3.50. Also comedy and magic shows. See what’s on page here. | £3.50 |
| Comedy loft at the Volley King street | Every second and fourth Tuesday of the month- join for a mix of new talent and veterans of the local comedy scene. Headlines by someone well known in the circuit. See more here. | Pay what you want on exit |
If you’re planning a trip to Southbank in Southville, or at the Comedy box above the Hen and CHicken pub, you might enjoy our posts on the best cafes and day- bars of north street, or even, a pre-dinner meal at one of these great restaurants of North street.
Otherwise, we have guides to great Bristol wine bars, great Bristol gin bars or great classic cocktail bars all over the city. We also have a great post about the live music scene in Bristol.
Best open mic comedy in Bristol
Open mic comedy nights in Bristol (nights where anyone can perform regardless or experience or ability) can be found at:
- ‘The Ministry of Ha-has’ every Tuesday at the Steam Crane in Bedminster. To contact them, DM page Capstone Entertainment Ltd. You can also sign-up on the night.
- Comedy Loft every 2nd and 4th Tuesday at The Royal Navy Volunteer Tavern, King Street. You can message the page directly.
- White Bear Comedy Club New Material night, every Wednesday. Sign ups via this google link.
- Smoke and Mirrors Open Mic on Wednesdays (2nd and 4th of each month). To sign up, email [email protected] with OPEN MIC in the subject
There is a great facebook group (Bristol Comedy Open Mic Nights) that can help you keep up to date on these opportunities near you.
Comedy festivals in Bristol
Bristol has a great comedy scene. Every year you can expect three festivals:
| Festival | What and When? |
| Bristol Comedy Festival (Link to page) | Early summer, a multiday event with locations all around Central Bristols collect comedy spots |
| The Bristol Comedy Garden (Link to page) | Outdoors in the downs, also early summer |
| Slapstick Festival (Link to page) | Slapstick Festival is a cultural, not-for-profit festival aiming to keep silent, visual on-screen comedy alive and thriving. Around January/February, screenings around bristol. |
If you’re in Bristol for a comedy festival, you might also enjoy checking out our restaurant guides: We have posts about great pasta in bristol, the greatest pizzas in bristol, great Bristol Japanese restaurants and best tapas in bristol.
Stand-up comedy courses in Bristol
Three places to check out stand-up comedy courses in Bristol are the Bristol Improv School, The Bristol Comedy School and The Folkhouse. We’ve curated a little summary of the types of courses they offer below (with links to the booking sites).
| Venue | Details |
| Bristol Improv School | Bristol Improv school will be a fantastic place if you are still dipping your toes into the stand up world. They run drop-in sessions at £10 per ticket on Monday nights where you can come to have a play around in a fun, safe place to experiment. The School also offers courses, the complete beginner courses are not even fully aimed at funny-ness, rather creativity, spontaneity and building confidence. Beyond the beginner’s discovery course they tea performance ant the levels and offer more intensive performance improv for those really looking to hone their talent. The full course list is here. They also offer bespoke improv training (for example, to hone skills in narrative, genre, team-building, authenticity, clowning, staging and much more!) and workplace or applied training (skills and creativity for teamwork, leadership, problem-solving and more!). |
| The Bristol comedy school | The Bristol comedy school do 6-week intensive stand up comedy courses. See the link here. The course is run by professional and covers every aspect of stand-up trainings; generating material, performance, discovering your comic attitude, stage persona and joke structure. It takes you from scratch up to your first showcase performance. |
| The folkhouse | The folkhouse sometimes run comedy courses. There’s Introduction to Stand up Comedy Writing, run by Alex Farrow, host of jericho comedy in Oxford. Check out the folkhouse website for other comedy related workshops- they run a lot of workshops and evening class courses. |