Morecambe is getting its own comedy festival this autumn, with organisers promising a week of top-tier stand-up, cult British TV talent and free workshops for the town’s budding comics. The Morecambe Comedy Festival runs from 21 to 28 November 2026, presented by Morecambe Town Council and produced by Matt Panesh, the man behind the town’s existing poetry and fringe festivals.
The line-up leans heavily on names familiar from British TV comedy. Headliner Steve Royle currently plays Eric Morecambe on stage in The Last Laugh, and has previously appeared on Live at the Palladium and Peter Kay’s Phoenix Nights Live, as well as reaching the final of Britain’s Got Talent. He is joined on the opening night by Brennan Reece, an Edinburgh Best Newcomer nominee and English Comedian of the Year winner once dubbed “a teenage Alan Bennett” by The Skinny, plus Daliso Chaponda, who hosts his own BBC Radio 4 show Citizen of Nowhere and is a regular on QI and Have I Got News For You. Compere for the night is Pam Ford.
The festival opens at Morecambe Winter Gardens on 21 November with that headline show, before a second Winter Gardens bill on 28 November brings together two heavyweights of British alternative comedy behind the camera. Ed Bye, director of Bottom and Red Dwarf, will appear in conversation with Paul Jackson, the producer and director behind The Young Ones and The Two Ronnies, for an evening of screenings and reminiscing about landmark TV comedy moments.
Between those two headline nights, the festival fills out with fringe shows and community events across town. The West End Playhouse hosts a run of award-winning fringe performances with local support acts: Mel Bryon, winner of Best Comedy Show at last year’s fringe festival, returns on 23 November for what’s billed as “a good old rant”, followed by musical act Stylophobia on 24 November, while a final fringe performer for 25 November is still to be announced. Just the Tonic, the Midlands comedy club operator and regular Edinburgh Fringe fixture, takes over The Platform on 26 November, with acts also yet to be confirmed.
Alongside the professional bill, the festival puts a strong emphasis on developing local talent. Free workshops running in the lead-up to the festival will teach budding comics how to write and perform their own stand-up routine, with graduates given the chance to perform at the Best of Morecambe community showcase at Morecambe Town Hall on 27 November. Children’s workshops will be held separately at Morecambe Library, alongside free caricature and street circus sessions taking place across the festival week. Free comedy-themed SEN workshops will also let children have a go at crafting comics, writing silly songs, playing with jokes and sketches, or learning a magic trick.
The timing is deliberate. Cllr Lee Bradbury, chairperson of Morecambe’s Festivals, Sponsorships and Events Committee, said: “As the birthplace of one of Britain’s most-loved comedians Morecambe has long been crying out for a comedy festival, and the centenary year of his birth seems a fitting time to launch one. As well as the fantastic talent on display, we’re providing a programme of creative workshops and opportunities for people of all ages to try their hand at various forms of comedy. We hope the festival will not only give audiences the chance to see some fantastic comedy, but inspire the next generation of performers too.”
Festival producer Matt Panesh, who founded Morecambe’s existing poetry and fringe festivals, added: “I’m very excited to be working with the town council on this. We’re building on the success of this year’s Fringe Festival by bringing back Fringe award winners, top level comedians, TV legends and offering opportunities for the town’s people to get involved in the fun.”
Morecambe Comedy Festival 2026 schedule:
- 21 November: Steve Royle, Brennan Reece, Daliso Chaponda, compered by Pam Ford, Morecambe Winter Gardens
- 23 November: Mel Bryon, West End Playhouse
- 24 November: Stylophobia, West End Playhouse
- 25 November: fringe performer TBC, West End Playhouse
- 26 November: Just the Tonic, acts TBC, The Platform
- 27 November: Best of Morecambe community showcase, Morecambe Town Hall
- 28 November: Ed Bye in conversation with Paul Jackson, Morecambe Winter Gardens
Further details, including ticket information, are available on the council’s dedicated festival page.
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