The voice of ITV’s Love Island, a prominent former MP and a TikTok star are to headline the first ever Paisley Comedy Festival.
Iain Stirling, Mhairi Black and Stuart Mitchell will be joined by Gary Meikle in taking to the stage in the town from 3rd to 5th April.
The festival is the latest major event to be announced for Paisley Town Hall, which has quickly established itself as one of Scotland’s top performance venues since reopening following the completion of its £22m transformation in November 2023. Shows will also be held in Paisley Arts Centre.
As well as the headline acts, there will be an Open-mic Night at Paisley Arts Centre on 4th April to showcase new and emerging comedy talent.
As the man who provides the voiceover for ITV’s Love Island, Iain Stirling, from Edinburgh, is one of the most recognised voices on television. The BAFTA-winner is also one of the biggest names in Scottish and UK comedy. The star and writer of ITV sitcom Buffering, he also has a stand-up special, Falling Upwards on Amazon Prime. He visits as part of Relevant, his biggest tour to date, on 3rd April.
Glasgow comedian Gary Meikle will bring Neurospicy tour to the Town Hall on 4th April and says: “On 23rd January 2024 I was diagnosed as being neurodivergent. Although surprising, this pretty much answered my full life. So join me in a show where I’ll give first-hand insight from my delusional eyes to what goes on in my ever expanding-mind with stories of how I’ve managed to survive through a life of total confusement.”
Described as one of Scotland’s rising stars, Glesga Da podcast co-host Stuart Mitchell will get on stage as part of his first UK-wide tour, Tips Not Included, on 5th April. He is one of the nation’s most recognisable comedians on social media – particularly TikTok – with more than 100 million views online. He is also the longest-running panelist on BBC Scotland’s Breaking The News show.
Mhairi Black is no stranger to Paisley, having been born in the town and was an MP in parts of Paisley from 2015 until she stood down at the last General Election.
When elected, the former SNP deputy Westminster leader was the youngest MP to be returned to the House of Commons since the Reform Act of 1832. Her Politics Isn’t For Me show is described as “a first-hand, ruthlessly honest look at 21st century politics”. She performs on 5th April.
OneRen Chair, Councillor Lisa-Marie Hughes, said: “We are so excited to launch Paisley Comedy Festival and reveal such a fantastic line-up for our first year.
“We know that audiences and acts love the atmosphere in the town hall and the arts centre. We’ve had some fantastic stand-up shows already which have set the stage perfectly for our new festival.
“Laughter’s good for everyone – and we are sure it will be great for Renfrewshire as locals and visitors alike come into town and enjoy not just the festival and its high-profile stars, but more of what our region has to offer.”
Paisley Comedy Festival is supported by Future Paisley, and organisers OneRen hope that it will become a firm fixture in Renfrewshire’s growing events calendar.
Tickets for all of the shows are on sale now at www.oneren.org.
Photo: Iain Stirling
Photo: Mhairi Black
Photo: Gary Meikle
Photo: Stuart Mitchell
Photo Credit: John Young