THE RIK Mayall Comedy Festival is set to be the biggest cultural event to hit the Spa town in decades, and organisers are urging people to grab tickets for the shows they’ve got their eye on — demand is expected to be high for the eight-day festival.
Rik Mayall moved to Droitwich at the age of three and grew up in the town. Rik and his family worked and performed at the Norbury Theatre, where his love of comedy and acting first developed.
The festival honours his connection to the town while supporting the local community and bringing new visitors to local businesses.
The programme is designed to celebrate Rik’s influence on comedy while supporting both emerging and established talent. It includes:
- A curated programme of comedy and theatre at the Norbury Theatre
- A free pop-up museum showcasing Rik’s career, curated by legendary photographer of comedians Andy Hollingworth
- A fringe festival bringing performances to venues all over town
- Workshops for aspiring comedians and actors
The festival is also supported by Rik’s family, with profits reinvested into future events or donated to the Norbury Theatre. With just four weeks to go until it kicks off on May 31, over 200 events are now lined up across more than 25 venues — some in more unexpected places than others.
Shows from Greg Davies, Peter Richardson, Shaparak Khorsandi and Helen Lederer sold out within 24 hours. Organisers said the response to these and other Norbury Theatre shows has been phenomenal. The 176-seater Norbury is one of Worcestershire’s hidden gems and plays a central role in the festival, as the place where Rik was involved in performing and production throughout his teenage years.
Ben Elton, one of Rik’s oldest friends and patron of the festival, said: “I am truly honoured to support this amazing celebration of one of the greatest ever talents of British Comedy.
“Rik was an absolute original, a pioneer of what was called alternative comedy (which was actually just comedy), whose incredible energy and style left an indelible mark on us all.
“My hope is that this festival honours his influence by becoming the testing ground for the next great comedic talents.”
Despite rumours of a sell-out, tickets are still available at the Norbury for shows including Tiff Stevenson, Angelos Epithemiou of Shooting Stars fame, and family-friendly events like Aftermirth — a comedy club for new parents and babies.
There’s also Fools Talk Theatre’s Against The Clock, a tribute to Harold Lloyd, and Jon Otway and Young Ones star Paul Bradley’s musical Verbal Diary, which is selling fast.
As well as traditional settings, local businesses have thrown themselves into the spirit of the festival by hosting shows in some very unexpected places.
Stuart Panrucker, Festival Director, said: “What’s been so heartening is how enthusiastically local businesses embraced this hugely exciting event, and not having a conventional space to host shows hasn’t put them off.”
Among the more unusual venues are men’s hairdresser Barbertown, which has a full programme of events all week, Inspire by Rachel beauty clinic, Coffee Culture – a 600-year-old shop turned café – and the back of Emms, a local haberdashery on Droitwich High Street.
Mitch Benn, best known as the resident musical satirist on Radio 4’s The Now Show, brings two shows dedicated to Rik to Droitwich Working Men’s Club, including one with a full band playing tribute to Rik featuring the Comic Strip’s Ronnie Golden.
With every show individually ticketed, and over 50 per cent of the programme free or Pay What You Want, people are encouraged to grab tickets early — especially for the more intimate or unusual spaces.
Alongside celebrating Rik’s legacy, a key aim of the festival is to champion new talent and give comedians and performers a space to try new material.
Councillor Richard Morris, who instigated the festival with the support of Rik’s family, said: “One of our core values is about ‘trying something new’ — embracing the bold, fearless spirit of Rik Mayall — and we’re encouraging both performers and audiences to do just that.
“Go to a show you know little about and you never know – you could be watching the next big thing.”
The volunteer-run festival offers a huge mix of events — big comedy names, free family days, plays, spoken word, improv, music, magic, dance, storytelling and singing — all aiming to put Droitwich firmly on the comedy map.
Visit www.rikmayallcomedyfestival.com for more information.
