Eight venues, £8 tickets: Penzance gets its first comedy festival

The idea started with a trip to Exeter and a nagging question on the drive home. This October, it becomes three days of stand-up across eight Penzance venues, with almost every ticket priced at £8.

The first ever Penzance Comedy Festival runs from Thursday 1 to Saturday 3 October 2026, bringing an extensive programme of comedy to the heart of the town. Every show bar the grand finale is £8, a deliberate decision by organisers to make live comedy as affordable and accessible as possible. Tickets are available through Your Box Office.

📷Matt Price

A comedy trail through the town

Performances will be spread across The Front Room Bar & Kitchen, The Copper Fox, The Admiral Benbow, The Lugger Inn, The Globe and Ale House, The Mexico Inn, Pixel Penzance and The Ritz. The spread creates a comedy trail through Penzance, with audiences encouraged to explore the town’s hospitality scene between shows.

Performers include Matt Price, Suzy Bennett and Mike Capozzola. A grand finale at The Ritz will be presented by The Laughter Lab in association with the Penzance Comedy Festival, with the line up still to be confirmed and the ticket price a little higher than £8, yet to be announced.

Cornwall comedy promoter Graham Wilkes has worked alongside the festival’s founder to curate the programme, bringing established names and emerging talent to venues across the town.

📷Mike Capozzola

The woman behind it

The festival is the brainchild of Loretta Caughlin, who has owned The Front Room Bar & Kitchen for the past seven years. A lifelong stand-up fan, she has travelled the country to attend comedy festivals, and a visit to the Exeter Comedy Festival last year was the moment it clicked.

“I’ve loved live comedy for years and after visiting the Exeter Comedy Festival I came home thinking, ‘Why doesn’t Penzance have something like this?’ The more I thought about it, the more I realised that if it was ever going to happen, someone needed to take the first step, so I did!”

“Penzance has an incredible collection of independent venues, a fantastic community spirit and so many visitors looking for unique experiences,” Loretta said. “My aim has always been to create something that is affordable, welcoming and showcases brilliant comedians while bringing people into the town and supporting local businesses. With tickets throughout the week at £8 (the grand finale at The Ritz will be a little more), we hope people will take a chance on seeing acts they may never have heard of and discover their next favourite comedian.”

📷Suzy Bennett

Backed by local businesses

Funding has come from the Penzance Business Improvement District (BID), alongside local businesses that have supported the festival through sponsorship covering poster design, printing and the loan of equipment.

The full programme and festival information will be available at pzcomedyfestival.co.uk, with tickets on sale through Your Box Office.

📷Loretta Cauglin