Slapstick 2016

Slapstick 2017

Season

Please note : this season finished in Jan 2017

Bristol's ever popular Slapstick Festival returns to Watershed (now celebrating its thirteenth edition!) and this year funny women are leading the way, from original Roaring Twenties flapper Colleen Moore, to ‘The It Girl’ Clara Bow and the stately Pola Negri, each in scintillating on-screen performances and presented by 21st Century champions, such as comedians Lucy Porter, Shazia Mirza, Marcus Brigstocke and film historian Kevin Brownlow.

In addition, the festival pays special tribute to three stand-out comics who have sadly recently left us, but who remain very much alive via their indomitable screen presence – comedians Victoria Wood and Rik Mayall plus French clown and filmmaker Pierre Étaix, winner of the 2012 Aardman Slapstick Visual Comedy Award.

In a focus on Europe, great Scandinavian directors Mauritz Stiller and Carl Theodor Dreyer cast wry eyes on the daily misadventures of ordinary humanity, and we'll be looking back at some classic television with special guest Neil Innes who’ll be premiering lost Dada-esque Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band footage. There'll also be the usual plethora of Slapstick silent comedy too, including an inspired unseen programme of silent shorts with Robin Ince & Goodie Bill Oddie in a comedy double act made in heaven.

All this, plus legendary music hall authority, comedian and actor Roy Hudd MBE in conversation with presenter Matthew Sweet, discussing his extensive contribution to the world of comedy.

What’s not to love..?


Previous screenings & events in this season

Accidentally Preserved:Surviving Slapstick on 16mm
Please note: This event took place in Jan 2017
Talk

In this special programme, curated by silent film historian and filmmaker Ben Model and hosted by Bill Oddie and Robin Ince, discover some rare and hilarious slapstick comedies starring comedy performers whose work has been largely forgotten.

Unseen Bonzos
Please note: This event took place in Jan 2017
Talk

In this special event join former Bonzo member Neil Innes for an onstage chat and reminisce and witness Bonzo Dog’s holy grail of lost performances – as part of a newly restored ‘lost’ episode of 60s British music programme Colour Me Pop.

Robin and Not Josie's Book Shambles: The Goodies
Please note: This event took place in Jan 2017
Talk

Comedians Robin Ince and Josie Long’s hugely popular podcast ‘Robin and Josie's Book Shambles’ comes to town to interrogate The Goodies on the books and authors that have inspired them as well as the books they have made themselves.

Roy Hudd OBE in Conversation
Please note: This event took place in Jan 2017
Talk

Join legendary music hall performer, comedian and actor Roy Hudd as he discusses his extensive contribution to comedy with BBC Radio 3’s Matthew Sweet.

Silent Comedy: A Century Ago
Please note: This was screened in Jan 2017
Film

Join us for a taste of the ‘flickers’ from a century ago - Saturday morning pictures circa 1916. A silent comedy double bill featuring two of the biggest stars of the silent era.

Master of the House

classified U Slapstick 2017
Master of the House/Du Skal aeredin Hustru
Please note: This was screened in Jan 2017
Film

By turns funny and deeply affecting, Carl Theodor Dreyer’s story of a housewife who, with the help of a wily nanny, turns the tables on her tyrannical husband, is a deft and a richly detailed tragi-comedy of domestic manners and gentle revenge.

Paths to Paradise

classified PG Slapstick 2017
Raymond Griffith:The Silk Hat Comedian
Please note: This was screened in Jan 2017
Film

Join Oscar®-winning director and film historian Kevin Brownlow as he introduces the rare Raymond Griffith feature Path To Paradise from his personal collection and champions this unsung comic.

The Peoples Poet: A Celebration of the Stickest Bogeys of Rik Mayall
Please note: This event took place in Jan 2017
Talk

The loss of Rik Mayall in 2014 came as frying pan blow to the world of comedy. A true one-off and comedy eccentric, the life of this fabulously anarchic comedian is celebrated in this special tribute looking back over a bombastic 35 year career.

Thomas Graals bästa film

classified PG Slapstick 2017
Thomas Graals bästa film
Please note: This was screened in Jan 2017
Film

In this funny tale of a famous screenwriter struggling to produce a film script, Mauritz Stiller - one of Sweden’s greatest filmmakers - directs another, Victor Sjöström, in the role of Thomas Graal, alongside the incomparable Karin Molander as the unflappable Bessie.

Why Be Good?

classified PG Slapstick 2017
Why Be Good?
Please note: This was screened in Jan 2017
Film

The comic gift that made Colleen Moore one of the top stars at the end of silent period shines throughout this 1929 romantic comedy.

The Suitor

classified U S Slapstick 2017
The Suitor
Please note: This was screened in Jan 2017
Film

One of the best films from one Frence's greatest filmmakers, Pierre Étaix’s (1928-2016) The Suitor is a remarkable homage to the great American silent comics, with Étaix himself in the lead role.

Hot Water

classified U Slapstick 2017
Hot Water
Please note: This was screened in Jan 2017
Film

A wonderful companion to Friday night's Silent Comedy Gala at Colston Hall don't miss this rare chance to see this underrated Harold Lloyd gem on the big screen.

Kid Boots (CANCELLED)

classified PG Slapstick 2017
Kid Boots
Please note: This was screened in Jan 2017
Film

Full of energetically paced physical comedy and clever sight gags this light, funny and romantic situation comedy provides an excellent showcase of Pop-eyed comedian Eddie Cantor’s hilarious pantomimic talents.

Shooting Stars

classified PG Slapstick 2017
Shooting Stars
Please note: This was screened in Jan 2017
Film

This exquisite double bill of rarely screened silent comedies is introduced by stand-up comedian Shazia Mirza, with live music accompaniment from Daan Van Den Hurk and the world's only Silent movie harpist Elizabeth - Jane Baldry.

Victoria Wood:Let's Do It!
Please note: This event took place in Jan 2017
Talk

Andrew Kelly hosts a panel looking at the extraordinary contribution Victoria Wood made to comedy writing, performance and stand up as we celebrate one of Britain’s most talented and best loved comedians.

Mon Oncle

classified U Slapstick 2017
Mon Oncle
Please note: This was screened in Jan 2017
Film

In keeping with Slapstick’s traditional celebrations of the great silent and visual clowns, we’re delighted to present French master Jacques Tati’s gentle and brilliantly witty satire on the modern world.

NotFilm

classified PG Slapstick 2017
NotFilm
Please note: This was screened in Jan 2017
Film

Ross Lipman's fabulous kino-essay provides a fascinating insight into what proved to be Samuel Beckett’s only onscreen work and Buster Keaton’s last ‘silent’ movie.

× Close

Help us make our website work better for you

We use Google Analytics to gather information on how our website is used. This information helps us to make changes to our website that improve the usefulness and overall experience for our visitors. If you would like to help us to make continuous improvements to our website, please allow us to set "first-party" cookies (only readable by us) so that we can distinguish visitors and gain greater insights.

Allow cookies for analytics Deny cookies for analytics