Russell Howard, Susan Calman and a backstage photo show anchor the fortnight.
Aberdeen Comedy Festival returns for two weeks of stand-up from 19 September to 4 October at various city venues. Alongside the main performers, the Music Hall is hosting a photo exhibition titled Ye Had Ti Be There.
Louise Chan from Aberdeen Performing Arts photographed last year’s festival from the green rooms instead of the audience areas. Each photo captures a comedian laughing in a private moment rather than during a performance. It’s a great record of performers off-stage.
Who's on the bill?
The Music Hall gets the big names. Russell Howard and Connor Burns both bring new shows, Susan Calman is doing her first new show in a decade, and Larry Dean, Scotland’s SNL UK star, is in the mix too.
Over at the Tivoli, Taskmaster series 20 winner Maisie Adam headlines. The Lemon Tree hosts a run of acts including Killian Sunderman, Laura Lexx and Sophia Wren, and Robin Grainger, a local name, plays Wild Goose across the festival.
If you fancy a gamble on someone you have not heard of yet, Late Night at the Lemon Tree is worth a look. Amanda Dwyer, Alexandra Haddow, Raj Poojara and Will Owen host, with a different line-up of touring comics on the bill every night: Jamie Finn, Adam Flood, Fab Goualin, Tamsyn Kelly, Kathy Maniura and Pravanya Pillay are all in for one night only, alongside Kim Blythe, Shaparak Khorsandi and Craig Hill from elsewhere in the festival.
There is a family strand too, with Comedy Club 4 Kids, Balloonatic, and Ted Hill Teaches You Science, Most of Which Is True aimed at younger audiences. His Majesty’s Theatre closes the festival with a week-long run of Tony Roper’s The Steamie, starring Olivier winner Lesley Mackie alongside His Majesty’s panto regular Paul J Corrigan.
The details: Aberdeen Comedy Festival runs 19 September to 4 October 2026 across venues including the Music Hall, His Majesty’s Theatre, the Tivoli, the Lemon Tree and Wild Goose. Full programme and tickets at aberdeenperformingarts.com.
Comments ()