Russell Howard, John Kearns and Laura Lexx lead three-weekend lineup next autumn.
When Aberdeen Comedy Festival wrapped up earlier this month, performers had consumed 80 rowies and over 100 caramel wafers backstage. It’s a detail that shows how the festival wanted to welcome acts to the city, rather than just booking them in and out.
The revived festival sold over 16,000 tickets across two weeks, and Aberdeen Performing Arts has already announced the 2026 run: three full weekends from 19 September to 04 October.
This year brought both debuts and returns. Chris McCausland sold out two shows at the Music Hall. The Flying Pigs packed His Majesty’s Theatre. Elf Lyons brought her Sky Arts Comedy Award-winning show Horses to the Lemon Tree for the first time, whilst Stewart Lee, Adam Kay and Connor Burns made their way back.
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The 2026 lineup so far
Russell Howard opens the extended festival on 19 September at the Music Hall with Don’t Tell The Algorithm. The premise is straightforward: no phones, no distractions, just people in a room together. Howard has sold out shows globally, and his return to the North East starts the festival’s second year back with confidence.
John Kearns brings Tilting at Windmills to the Lemon Tree on 29 September. The double Edinburgh Comedy Award winner describes it as “a fragmented, digressing portrayal of a 38-year-old man’s life, alluding to books he hasn’t read.” If you’ve caught him on Taskmaster or Live at the Apollo, you’ll have a sense of what’s coming.
Laura Lexx closes the festival on 3 October, also at the Lemon Tree, with Yo-Yo. Fresh from winning Best Show at the Women in Comedy Festival 2024, her new material explores marriage, self-belief and being fully known by another person.
Over 16,000 tickets sold across two weeks as Aberdeen welcomed comedy back to the city this year.
What it means for the city
Aberdeen Performing Arts Chief Executive Sharon Burgess said: “We’ve had amazing performances from local heroes such as the Flying Pigs, national treasures like Rory Bremner and Chris McCausland, and the brightest and funniest new comics on the circuit, including Sophie Duker and Elf Lyons.”
The decision to stretch the festival from two weeks to three weekends suggests something clicked this year. Tickets for the announced shows are on sale now, with more programme details arriving over the coming months.
