A new comedy festival, The Falmouth Cringe, has launched its ticket sales to the public. The bespoke comedy festival, running from 30th June to 3rd July, is the first of its kind in the South West of England.

Working closely with 6 local, independent venues in Falmouth, the festival is bringing 25 comedy performances to the town to showcase talent from across the country and nurture and champion homegrown comedians. 

The festival will give audiences in Cornwall the opportunity to enjoy high-quality comedy with a new fringe-style comedy festival to match others across the UK for the first time, with four headline gigs taking place during the weekend alongside a variety of new and exciting acts. 

Tim Key (Alan Partridge, The Witchfinder, Tim Key's Late Night Poetry Programme) will open the festival with his 5-star reviewed one-man show, Mulberry, hailed as "The greatest stand-up response to Lockdown so far" by The Times. 

The Poly will host a surprise gig on Saturday 2nd July. Audiences can buy a ticket to see a mystery headline act, which the festival promises will be a big name on the comedy circuit. 

Two children's comedy shows will also take place during the afternoons of Saturday 1st July and Sunday 2nd July. On Saturday, the Suitcase Storytelling Company are performing their acclaimed family show 'The Girl and the Dragon' at Solskinn - The Church, bringing a fantastical storytelling show to Falmouth that follows hero Toral on the adventure of a lifetime. 

On Sunday, the 5-star reviewed family-friendly improvisational comedy 'Shaken Not Stirred: The Improvised James Bond Film' comes to The Cornish Bank. Armed only with suggestions from the audience, Alexander Fox, Dom O'Keefe and Scott Oswald take on mission impossible in the style of the world's favourite spy. 

Fresh from Live at The Apollo, Mock The Week, and The Last Leg, Best Newcomer nominee Maisie Adam will close the Falmouth Cringe Festival with a work in progress of her brand new show for 2022, 'Buzzed'.

Commenting, co-director, Franciska Earle, said: 

"Running a performance space in Falmouth for the last 5 years showed me that Cornwall is increasingly left out of the loop when it comes to live comedy. 

"There is so much talent in this county who struggle to make their voices heard outside of the Westcountry, and the Cornish audience rarely get to see top-quality acts without having to travel miles to do so.  

"Our aim for the festival was to be able to connect audiences with the amazing talent this county has to offer whilst placing Cornwall on the comedy map."

Commenting, co-director, Johanna Brooks, said:

"We've been truly humbled by how many local businesses and individuals have offered their time and support to make this happen. 

"It feels like the entire community in Falmouth is behind the festival and is just as excited as we are to be launching today. We can't wait to see how successful it becomes. 

"There's no reason that Cornwall can't have something that might rival the Edinburgh Fringe one day!"

Richard Wilcox, Manager of the Falmouth BID, part of Falmouth Council and Falmouth Cringe Festival sponsor, said:

"We're really pleased to see The Falmouth Cringe being added to Falmouth's incredible events calendar. It's a great idea that will grow and develop, one which I'm sure will appeal to many different audiences. 

"The Cringe is one of a number of new creative happenings this year, all of which are being supported and nurtured by the BID through Falmouth Creates, a new strategic group we've set up, that aims to firmly put Falmouth back on the creative events map."

Tickets can be bought and full lineup for the festival can be found here.