Winner of the Best Kids’ Show at the 2024 Leicester Comedy Festival.

After a sell out run at last year’s Fringe, comedian and children's author Olaf Falafel is dishing up another frying pan full of family-friendly comedy.

The comedy show comedians take their kids to is back and even funnier!

Join Olaf Falafel (if that is his real name) for an hour of kid's comedy which will be the stupidest he has ever let trickle from his brain. Expect sausage birds, radioactive bogies and truth-telling cheese. There will definitely be a time-travelling portal to the future, some farts and a live drawalong.

Be there or be a dodecahedron!

Time Out Top 10 Kids' Shows 2024.

The Times Edinburgh Festival Family Highlights 2024

'Olaf Falafel is a perfectly ridiculous festival must see' Shaparak Khorsandi

'My son’s favourite comedian, which is upsetting given my profession' Geoff Norcott

'Very very very silly' Josie Long

Age guidance
4 + years

Studio
£12 | £10 under 16s | Family and Friends (4 people) £40

Olaf's website

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•  16 Apr from £10
•  16 Apr from £10

Hosted by Jeff Lloyd.

Are you on the side of Dolly, Kenny, Johnny and Tammy? Or do you favour newer superstars, like Luke, Carrie, Tim or Chris? Here's your chance to hear the 10 favourites of our audience. To paraphrase the Blues Brothers film, we'll play both sorts: Country and Western!

Studio
£12

Other Vinyl Frontier events this season include:
Sat 11 Jan: Album Championship
Sat 8 Feb: New Vinyl (since 2020)
Sat 8 Mar: Vinyl Treasure Chest Singles Competition

The Vinyl Frontier's website

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•   5 Apr from £12

A poignant exploration of comedy intertwined with the essence of life's ups and downs.

Justin's unparalleled ability to blend side-splitting humour with touching insights offers a rare glimpse into the human condition through the lens of a comedian.

This performance is more than just a series of jokes - it's a heartfelt journey through the joys, sorrows, and hilarity of life, delivered with Justin's characteristic charisma and warmth. Prepare to laugh, reflect and connect deeply with every story, making this evening an unforgettable highlight in your cultural calendar.

'What sets him apart is the craft. Lightning fast wit, masterful delivery' ★★★★ Chortle

'If joke-telling is your thing, then Justin Moorhouse is your man...very high gag rate' ★★★★ Fest

'Skilful crafting... he keeps the laughs coming' ★★★★ British Theatre Guide

'He charms the pants off the crowd' Sunday Times

'The amount of first-rate comic craft that goes into his routines is worthy of admiration' Guardian

'Simultaneously down-to-earth and out of this world' The List

Age guidance
14+ years

Courtyard Theatre
£16 | £6 unwaged with proof of JSA

Justin's website

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Insta justinmoorhouse
Fb Justin Moorhouse
Tiktok justinmoorhousecomedian

•  11 Apr from £6

One of the country's most exciting up and coming stand ups.

After a five star, sell-out run at the Edinburgh Fringe, the 'almost sexily cerebral' (★★★★ Daily Telegraph) stand-up Alex Kealy is taking his new stand-up show about fear on a national tour.

Alex has been the tour support for Jack Dee, Shaparak Khorsandi, Tom Rosenthal and Kieran Hodgson.

Along with Ivo Graham, he hosts hit podcast Gig Pigs, which regularly topped the music podcasts charts during its first two seasons, as well as being featured in The Guardian's readers' Top 10 Podcasts of 2023.

His sharp joke-writing and political takes have been featured on multiple guest appearances on BBC Radio 4's The Now Show as well as Catherine Bohart's TL; DR and Rhys James's What Are You Talking About. He's also been a regular writer for Mock The Week and The News Quiz.

Studio
£16

Alex's website

X Alex Kealy
Insta alexkealy

•  12 Apr from £16

A double header of comedy as two top comedians warm up ahead of the Edinburgh Festival.

Rob Auton

Rob Auton released his book I Strongly Believe in Incredible Things with Harper Collins in Autumn of 2021 to critical acclaim.

He has written seven five star rated Edinburgh fringe shows, The Yellow Show, The Sky Show, The Face Show, The Water Show, The Sleep Show, The Hair Show, The Talk Show (the second best reviewed show at the Edinburgh Festival 2018) and The Time Show, which was one of the best reviewed shows at the Edinburgh Festival 2019.

He has performed his unique brand of comedy on The Russell Howard Hour (Sky One) and on Rob Delaney’s Stand Up Central (Comedy Central). The latter set went viral on Facebook with 4.7m views and couniting.  

Rob has had three collections of writing and illustrations published by Burning Eye books and has had his poetry turned into short films and shown on Channel 4. 

Rob made his television acting debut as a corduroy jacket wearing poet in ITV’s Cold Feet 2018. Since then, he performed in series 2 of The End of The Fing World (Netflix/ Channel 4), and Miracle Workers (TBS). Rob also starred in and co-wrote the short film The Peamaster which was nominated for best short film at the Milan Film Festival. Rob was a finalist for The Arts Foundation Spoken Word Award and a winner of a Three Weeks Editors Award. He is a regular poet at Bang Said the Gun (voted best poetry night in the UK by The Times). 

Rob is also the creator of The Rob Auton Daily Podcast which took home The Best Daily Podcast Award at the 2020 British Podcast Awards.

Joe Kent-Walters

Joe Kent-Walters is a multi-award winning comedian and actor from Huddersfield. He has been delighting audiences up and down the country with his idiosyncratic style of outrageous character comedy, most notably with his comic creation Frankie Monroe.

His 'mesmerising and unpredictable presence' (Chortle) performing as Frankie saw him win the 2023 BBC New Comedy Award after a 'barnstorming' (Ibid) set at Glasgow’s Kings Theatre. Joe is now in development with the BBC and Hat Trick Productions.

His debut solo show Frankie Monroe: LIVE!!! has already played to sell out crowds across some of the country’s best comedy festivals including Machynlleth, Hastings, Glasgow and Leicester where it picked up the main award for Best Show. Frankie Monroe: LIVE!!! was also awarded the Keep It Fringe bursary and will be playing at The Monkey Barrel throughout this year’s Edinburgh Festival.

Prior to his BBC success Joe won the 2021 Chortle Student Comedy Award which saw him play the main comedy stage at Latitude festival and tour Australia, performing at the Sydney Comedy Store.

Joe’s double act The Lovely Boys have also been causing a splash in the UK alternative scene. Their eponymous 2022 debut show received critical acclaim and cult status with Jay Richardson. They now run a regular ‘& friends’ gig at Hackney’s Moth Club with Knock2Bag.

Studio
£12

Rob Auton
Rob's Website

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Joe Kent-Walters
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•  24 Apr from £12

A double header of comedy as two top comedians warm up ahead of the Edinburgh Festival.

Marise Gaughan

Marise Gaughan is a critically acclaimed comedian and author from Dublin.

In 2022 Marise’s debut memoir, Trouble, was published by Monoray. It was described by The Irish Times as ‘a graphic, explicit, often visceral memoir that engulfs the reader’ as it traces Marise’s unravelling through sex, self-destruction and a near-miss with Scientology. The book went on to be an Irish Bestseller and received fantastic reviews in the press. It was published in paperback in 2023 and Marise is currently working on her first novel.

As a stand-up comedian, Marise started her career in Los Angeles, appearing in on stages including The Comedy Store and The Hollywood Improv. Since returning to the UK, her debut stand-up show Drowning explored her father’s (successful) suicide attempt and her own (unsuccessful) one. It premiered at the Dublin Fringe Festival in 2019 where it was nominated for the Fringe’s Spirit of Wit Moira Brady Averill Award for artists whose work defies categorisation with bold and unconventional material and for the First Fortnight Award for shows that challenge stigma and prejudice about mental health. Marise was subsequently awarded the Women’s Irish Network Arts Bursary. She has also supported acts including Rob Delaney, Ari Shaffir and Jim Norton on tour.

'Gaughan’s humour is dark, biting, and painfully honest, but it is in the moments when she is being gentler to herself that her words are at their most transcendent' Irish Independent

'Trouble is an outstanding memoir, a text on addiction that gets to the heart of its implicit trauma and complications. Gaughan has a remarkable voice, self-assured yet vulnerable, frank to a staggering degree – and likeable even in her darkest moments' The Business Post

'An outstanding text on addiction and girlhood, equal parts vulnerable and witty' The Business Post

Bella Hull

Bella Hull is a stand-up comedian and writer. She is one of the UK’s most exciting young comedians and her television appearances include BBC’s Stand Up for Live Comedy, ITV’s The Stand Up Sketch Show and Comedy Central Live. 

A hugely acclaimed live act, Bella regularly plays to sold out crowds both in the UK and abroad. She has taken two critically-acclaimed shows to the Edinburgh Fringe, Babycakes in 2022 and Piggie in 2024 and has supported Phil Wang, Russell Howard and Paul Chowdhry on tour.

Bella also co-hosts the Rats of the Roundtable and Last Night Ever podcasts and as a writer, Bella is working on a script commission with the BBC and has been featured on BBC Radio 4’s Newsjack and Flux Magazine.

'a new template for generations Z and Alpha to follow' Rolling Stone

'A gifted comedian…definitely see this' ★★★★ Bruce Dessau, Beyond the Joke

'very intelligent – and witty – comedy…an ambitious debut, Hull is clearly a very talented writer and performer' ★★★★ Veronica Lee, The Arts Desk

'There is just so much packed into this show…a sensational performance' ★★★★ Deadline

Studio
£12

Marise Gaughan
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Insta marisegaughan

Bella Hull
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Insta bellabellahull

•  25 Apr from £12