Comedy legend Ben Elton is coming to Southport Comedy Festival 2024

Organisers of the annual Southport Comedy Festival are thrilled to announce the addition of comedy legend Ben Elton to this year’s line-up. 

Ben Elton will be bringing his hotly anticipated new show to the 2024 Southport Comedy Festival in association with Halliwell Jones at Victoria Park in Southport on Wednesday 9 October 2024.

Following the huge success of Ben Elton’s critically acclaimed sold-out UK tour in 2019, which marked his return to stand-up comedy after a 15 year hiatus, the undisputed godfather of modern stand-up is going back on the road with a brand new live show – Authentic Stupidity. Taking in 54 dates across the UK and Ireland, the tour opens at York Barbican on 1st September and culminates in London’s West End on 18 November.

The world has changed a lot since Ben last toured five years ago – a whole new existential threat has emerged to challenge our very existence: Artificial Intelligence. Apparently, it’s going to render all human life meaningless, but Ben is here to warn you that AI is not the greatest threat that we face; it’s Authentic Stupidity!

Ben Elton said: 

“The verdict’s in! Humanity is thick! Homo halfwit. The idiot branch of the Ape family! 

“We need signs to tell us to step off escalators, we elect gibbering fools to lead us and now we’ve invented Artificial Intelligence which is actually going to replace us! I’ve spent 45 years in comedy exploring the outer limits of human idiocy and my mission has never been more timely. Forget AI! It’s AS we need to be worrying about!”

Ben Elton’s multi-award-winning career spans over four decades and includes seminal and groundbreaking television shows (The Young Ones, Blackadder, Upstart Crow), West End plays (Popcorn, Upstart Crow), West End musicals (We Will Rock You, The Beautiful Game, Close up: The Twiggy Musical), best-selling novels (Stark, Dead Famous, Two Brothers) and feature films (Maybe Baby, Three Summers, All is True). 

In October last year, Ben returned to Channel 4 for a one-off revival of Friday Night Live to rave reviews. The reincarnation of the original smash-hit Saturday Night Live was critically acclaimed and Ben won the BAFTA for Comedy Entertainment Programme 2023.

Ben Elton is the latest big name to be announced for this year’s 17-day Southport Comedy Festival which will be held for a fourth year in a luxury heated and seated marquee courtesy of Elite Marquees at Victoria Park in Southport.

Persian Comedy Powerhouse Omid Djalili, German Comedy Ambassador Henning Wehn and host of smash hit podcast ‘Have a Word’ Dan Nightingale are already on sale with more exciting names to be announced soon.

Keep an eye on the festival website or join the mailing list to find out first who will be making Southport Smile this October.

Ben Elton Authentic Stupidity

Date of show: Wednesday 9^th October 2024

Tickets: £32.50 + BF

Doors: 6:30pm

Show: 7:30pm

Age suitability: 16+

Venue: Southport Comedy Festival Under Canvas at Victoria Park in Southport, Esplanade, Southport, PR8 1RX

Tickets go on sale on Wednesday 31 January 2024 at 10am, available via the Southport Comedy festival website.

To book your tickets for Ben Elton click HERE. For the latest news in Liverpool click HERE.