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Rik Mayall Comedy Festival Set to Transform Droitwich with 130 Shows in Unexpected Venues
The Rik Mayall Comedy Festival is set to be the biggest cultural event to hit the Spa town in decades and the organisers are urging people to grab tickets for the shows they’ve got their eye on as demand is expected to be high for the eight-day festival.
With just seven weeks to go until the festival kicks off on 31 May, there are now 130 events lined up across more than 25 venues around town — some in more unexpected places than others.
Despite rumours of a sell out, there are still tickets available at the main venue, The Norbury Theatre, for shows such as Live At The Apollo’s Scott Bennett, Angelos Epithemiou of Shooting Stars fame, as well as shows for families including Grimm Tales and, for new parents and babies, Aftermirth comedy club. Fools Talk Theatre present “Against The Clock!” – A ‘Hooray for Harold Lloyd’ Story, and cult-rock legend Jon Otway and Young Ones star Paul Bradley’s musical ‘Verbal Diary’ are selling fast.
As well as the more traditional settings for performances, local businesses have fully embraced the innovative and bold spirit of this debut festival by hosting shows in spaces you wouldn’t normally expect.
Stuart Panrucker, Festival Director said: “What’s been so heartening is how enthusiastically local businesses embraced this hugely exciting event, and not having a conventional space to host shows hasn’t put them off.”
Quirky places to take in a show are the men’s hairdresser Barbertown which has a full programme of events throughout the week, a beauty clinic - Inspire by Rachel, a 600 year old shop turned cafe - Coffee Culture,and even in the back of local Haberdashery shop, Emms on Droitwich High Street.
Mitch Benn, best known as resident musical satirist Radio 4’s The Now Show, brings two separate shows dedicated to Rik Mayall to the Droitwich Working Men’s Club, one even featuring a full band including the Comic Strip’s Ronnie Golden.
With every show individually ticketed, and over 50% of these free or pay what you want, festival goers are encouraged to buy tickets to bag their spot as some of these more eccentric venues have limited spaces.
As well as celebrating the comedic legacy of Rik Mayall — who called Droitwich home from the age of three — a guiding principle of the festival is to champion new talent and provide a testing ground for fresh material. Councillor Richard Morris, who instigated the festival, said: “One of our core values is about ‘trying something new’ embracing the bold, fearless spirit of Rik Mayall — and we’re encouraging both performers and audiences to do just that, go to a show you know little about and you never know - you could be watching the next big thing.”
The volunteer run festival will showcase a wide variety of events with the 130 shows covering comedy alongside free family days, plays, spoken word, improv, music, magic, dance, storytelling and singing which promises to put Droitwich firmly on the comedy map.
Tickets for all shows, including free fringe performances, are available at www.rikmayallcomedyfestival.com.