Summer Lovin’: The Giggle Beats guide to July’s festivals…
Summer is upon us – and there’s a lot going on. Sport dominates the entertainment landscape, of course, with the European Championships and the Olympics; but to be honest we’re not all that interested in watching England limp to a second round exit again. (Ed: our money’s on the Dutch.) We’re not even that bothered about Team GB, either. In our eyes, there’s only one Team GB and Dave from the office isn’t going to be winning 100m sprints any time soon…
So with that in mind, we’ve produced a guide to our summer: a month or so of exciting comedy festivals – some old, one new – with all the important details at hand if you’d like to join us. Go on, you know you want to.
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[half_last] When and where: 2nd-29th July; various venues in the town.
Our picks: Carl Hutchinson, Ray Peacock, Pete Firman, Gary Delaney, Andrew Ryan, Dan Nightingale, Michael J Dolan. See the full line-up: darlingtoncomedyfestival.co.uk
Why you should go: A new festival for 2012 that hosts top comedians you don’t often see up north…in Darlington!
Tickets: £5-£22.50 + free shows. Buy here.
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[half_last] When and where: 12th– 15th July; Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk.
Our picks: Rich Hall, Jack Dee, Tim Minchin, The Horne Section, Josie Long, Ed Gamble, Reginald D Hunter, Greg Davies. See the full line-up: latitudefestival.co.uk.
Why you should go: To check for life outside the North East. Latitude features arguably the ultimate comedy line-up, a great setting and a whole host of other arenas.
Tickets: £175. Buy here. [/half_last] [hr_dotted]
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[half_last] When and where: 20th– 29th July; seven venues on Tyneside, including The Stand, Journal Tyne Theatre, Live Theatre and The Cluny.
Our picks: Adam Bloom, Jason Cook, Chris Ramsey, Jo Caulfield, Simon Munnery, Patrick Monahan, Paul Sinha. See the full line-up here.
Why you should go: A prime opportunity to see some of 2012’s top Fringe shows a week before they head to Edinburgh.
Tickets: £10-12 per show. Buy tickets here. [/half_last]
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[half_last] When and where: 27th-29th July; Lowther Deer Park, Lake District.
Our picks: We’ll be revealing the full line-up for Kendal Calling soon. (Psst: it includes a former Edinburgh Comedy Award winner and one of our favourite character acts…). For more details, see: kendalcalling.co.uk.
Why you should go: Small summer festival + beautiful Lake District landscape = win. Go.
Tickets: £105 for adults, £50 for 11-15s, and under 11s go free. Buy here. [/half_last]
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There’s also the likes of Leeds Festival, Larmer Tree Festival and, of course, the Edinburgh Fringe in August, all of which are worth the train ride from the North East. We’ll be visiting as many as we can this summer, so check back here in the coming months for our coverage. In the meantime, entertain yourself:
