Frank Skinner, Katherine Ryan, Joe Lycett, and More Set for Roundhouse Comedy Festival
Sam Campbell, Judi Love, Ed Gamble & Kristen Schaal also join the Camden festival lineup
Roundhouse Comedy Festival will return to Camden this August, opening on Saturday 1st August with a flagship edition of Live at the Roundhouse, headlined by Frank Skinner, and featuring Phil Wang, Rosie Jones and Celya AB, hosted by Saturday Night Live UK star Paddy Young.
The opening night sets the tone for an ambitious, genre-spanning programme featuring some of comedy's biggest names, as the legendary Camden venue celebrates 20 years since reopening as an independent multi-arts space and youth charity. The festival is once again co-programmed by acclaimed comedy production company Berk's Nest. Members' presale opens Thursday 23 April, followed by general sale on Friday 24 April, with tickets available online.
Continuing their commitment to accessibility, the Roundhouse and Berk's Nest will once again offer 30 £5 tickets for every show to audiences aged 30 and under.
Following the resounding success of its 2023 debut, the Roundhouse Comedy Festival returns in 2026 bigger than ever, expanding its scope across stand-up, live podcasts, theatrical comedy and interactive shows, and reaffirming the Roundhouse as a major destination for live comedy in the UK. The 2026 line-up is packed with major headliners including Joe Lycett, Katherine Ryan, Sam Campbell, Ed Gamble, Sara Pascoe and Vittorio Angelone, alongside solo shows from Kristen Schaal (star of Bob's Burgers) and Jack Rooke, creator of Big Boys. This year's festival promises more shows, more comedians, and a frankly irresponsible amount of laughter.
Live podcast recordings from Adam Buxton and Alexei Sayle sit alongside a new wave of emerging talent, including Saturday Night Live UK breakout Ayoade Bamgboye and last year's Edinburgh Comedy Award winner Sam Nicoresti, offering a vibrant snapshot of the comedy scene right now.
For 2026, the festival also welcomes US comedy streaming service Dropout who will present live editions of its hit shows Dirty Laundry, Um, Actually and Crowd Control outside of the United States for the very first time. Born out of the hugely successful comedy website College Humor, Dropout produces a wide variety of shows as a completely independent streaming service. The hosts of three of their most popular shows will be part of the festival's programme, welcoming special guests into their formats that mix razor-sharp comedy, improvisation, and gameplay. Tickets for Dropout will be available via a Superfans presale from Tuesday 5 May, followed by access for Roundhouse Advanced members on Wednesday 6 May and Roundhouse members on Thursday 7 May, before general sale opens on Friday 8 May.
Across the opening weekend, the Roundhouse Comedy Festival kicks off in style by welcoming The Alexei Sayle Podcast to the stage for a rare live recording with special guest Diane Morgan, promising an unfiltered and unpredictable conversation shaped by the audience. Later that evening, Katherine Ryan headlines a major showcase alongside Judi Love, Michelle de Swarte, Lou Sanders and Jack Skipper - a multi-generational line-up spanning established favourites and fast-rising acts.
The Adam Buxton Podcast lands at the Roundhouse with special guest and Roundhouse alumni Mawaan Rizwan, while Dropout's trio of shows bring their distinctive, interactive formats to UK audiences for a rare run of live appearances.
Stand-up remains at the heart of the festival, with a series of curated mixed bills led by some of the most in-demand names in comedy. Star of Last One Laughing, Sam Campbell headlines a surreal, high-energy line-up alongside Fern Brady, Desiree Burch and Ayoade Bamgboye, while Ed Gamble tops a bill hosted by Taskmaster star Amy Gledhill, featuring Jamali Maddix and Sam Nicoresti. Sara Pascoe and Vittorio Angelone each host special “& Friends” nights, assembling hand-picked line-ups including Harriet Kemsley, Nina Conti, John Kearns, Michael Odewale, Troy Hawke and Janine Harouni.
Alongside stand-up, the festival also highlights more theatrical and personal work. BAFTA-winning writer and Roundhouse ambassador Jack Rooke revisits his breakthrough show Good Grief a decade after its debut, as part of a wider UK tour. Beyond the stage, Rooke is a Commissioner for the Young Creatives Commission, led by the Centre for Young Lives in partnership with the Roundhouse. The initiative aims to expand young people's access to arts and creative spaces. As part of a diverse panel, he will help shape recommendations to improve youth, education, and community arts provision, due by December.
American actress and comedian Kristen Schaal is bringing her new comedy play The Legend of the Crystal Shell to London for a one-night-only performance, co-starring her Bob's Burgers co-star John Roberts. The festival closes with Joe Lycett hosting a night of new and experimental material, inviting audiences into the messy, unpredictable process of comedy in the making, where Joe will host a line-up of some of his favourite comedians.
The 2023 festival firmly established the Roundhouse Comedy Festival as a major highlight in the UK comedy calendar, with sold-out shows from names including James Acaster, Katherine Ryan, Ed Gamble, Nish Kumar, Rose Matafeo and Reggie Watts. Building on this success, the 2026 edition offers an even more expansive and ambitious programme, reflecting comedy's growing cultural impact as both entertainment and a space for connection, release and commentary.
Marcus Davey, CEO and Artistic Director, Roundhouse said, “After the joy of our first Comedy Festival, we're delighted to be bringing it back to the Roundhouse this summer. The programme brings together some of the biggest names in comedy, and it's especially exciting to welcome back Roundhouse alumni with BAFTA-winning writer Jack Rooke revisiting his breakthrough show Good Grief and Mawaan Rizwan taking to the stage as a special guest for Adam Buxton's acclaimed podcast. At its heart, the festival is about creating a shared live experience where audiences can enjoy comedy at its best in our glorious Main Space. We can't wait to welcome audiences for what promises to be a lot of big laughs.”
Owen Donovan, Managing Director, Berk's Nest added, “We're thrilled to be back at Roundhouse this August with some of our favourite comics, podcasts, and shows. 2023's festival was an amazing first festival and I can't wait for this bigger, busier, even more brilliant line-up to come to London for a huge summer of comedy. Amongst a list of names I'm proud to have programmed, it's a personal thrill to be collaborating with Dropout on bringing their three shows over to the UK for the first time, whilst Kristen Schaal's The Legend of Crystal Shell is an incredible, genre-defying show that brings her back to London after a decade and a half since she last performed here. All that, and then a huge list of some of my favourite comics in the country!”
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