Slapstick Festival

Bristol's own silent and visual comedy festival returns with an incredible line-up of special events.  The guests include Barry Cryer, Bill Oddie, Graeme Garden, Tim Brooke-Taylor, Ian Lavender and Sanjeev Bhaskar.

STUPID BOY! CELEBRATING DAD'S ARMY WITH IAN LAVENDAR
THURS 26th JAN 7:30pm

DAVID WYATT'S SILENT MAJORITY:
THE CLOWN PRINCES
FRI 27 JAN 2.00pm 
David Wyatt presents his selection of some of the finest and funniest of the lesser well known silent comedians; Charley Chase, Lloyd Hamilton, Max Davidson & Larry Semon among them.

GRIFF RHYS JONES PRESENTS SILENT COMEDY SPECTACULAR
FRI 27th JAN 7:30pm

CHARLES CHAPLIN: BRIDGING THREE CENTURIES
WITH DAVID ROBINSON
SAT 28 JAN 9.30am  
David Robinson is recognised as the definitive biographer and a world expert on Chaplin. In this presentation, richly illustrated with film and rare stills, he considers the phenomenon of an artist who maintains his power as a supreme entertainer in the 21st century.

GRAEME GARDEN ON CHARLEY CHASE (U)
Live piano accompaniment by John Sweeney
SAT 28 JAN 11.00am  
Charley Chase was a brilliantly inventive and prolific comedian contributing to over 300 films as writer, director, or actor and worked with almost every major name in early film comedy. Graeme Garden selects his favourite shorts from this period to reveal Chase at his finest and funniest.

HAROLD LLOYD: DOUBLE BILL
AN EASTERN WESTERNER (U) & GRANDMA'S BOY (U)
with Barry Cryer and live musical accompaniment by The European Silent Screen Virtuosi
SAT 28 JAN 2.00pm  
Barry Cryer introduces two of Harold Lloyd's finest comedies. An Eastern Westerner - consistently clever and amusing, well-paced and packed with gags plus a rare chance to see Lloyd's first feature film on the big screen Grandma's Boy.

HE'S NOT THE MESSIAH HE'S... TERRY JONES
SAT 28th Jane

SLAPSTICK SPOOFS (U)
SUN 29 JAN 9.30am  
Long before Airplane and Naked Gun there were silent spoofs of current epics like Bending Hur. Before Laurel & Hardy, Stan Laurel almost made a career out of it, and see Buster Keaton parodying western star William S.Hart. Hosted by David Wyatt.

MY CHAPLIN with Sanjeev Bhaskar
SUN 29 JAN 11.00am
Kumars at No 42 star Sanjeev Bhaskar selects favourite shorts and shares his passion for Charlie Chaplin with Chaplin historian David Robinson. With live piano accompaniment.

THE GREAT STONE FACE: YOUNG KEATON (U)
Live musical accompaniment by members of the European Silent Screen Virtuosi
SUN 29 JAN 2.00pm 
Keaton admirers Bill Oddie, Tim Brooke-Taylor, Barry Cryer and Ian Lavender each select a favourite short that reveals Keaton at his freshest, most spontaneous and inventive, films include The Boat (1921) and The Scarecrow (1920).

See the full programme, venues, times and prices on the Slapstick Festival Website