Up Next Comedy Night
Saturday 4th May
8:00pm
Part of Up Next 2024 – a two-week festival celebrating Merseyside artists.
We’re closing Up Next 2024 in hilarious style with the festival’s first-ever comedy night.
Hosted by Unity regular and Open Call alumni, the award-winning comedian Sian Davies, this stella line-up of local, scouse comedians is the perfect way to finish our two-week celebration of Merseyside artists.
Already announced as part of the line-up are sets by…
Alex Stringer:
Alex Stringer’s hysterically sarcastic material and brilliant dead pan delivery has audiences howling with laughter. She is one of the fastest rising stars on the comedy circuit and has proven herself to have a huge future in the industry.
“Alex is a natural comedic talent and even with 5 months away from stage, she stays hilarious and consistent” – Dane Baptiste
“Fantastic gag rate. I can see you on TV. Really original persona I can see working on TV. I hope you do.” – Rachel Parris
Comedy Bloomers LGBT+ New Comedian of the year Finalist 2022
Leicester Square new comedian of the year semi-finalist 2021
So You Think You’re Funny semi-finalist 2021
2nd in West Didsbury Comedy Festival New Act of the Year 2020
Beat the Frog World Series 2020 finalist
Niki Rooney:
Niki Rooney is a disabled comedy writer from a working class background. Her stand up leans towards a storytelling format, often about living life with bowel disease, in which she is often, quite literally, the butt of her own joke. Niki has written extensively for children’s television and was once described as ‘the closest you can get to hiring a child without actually hiring a child’.
Sam Serrano
Hannah Plat
Ben Hodge:
Ben Hodge is quickly becoming seen as one of the most exciting new acts on the circuit. His unique outlook as a trans man is something he is exploring in his work-in-progress show, It’s a Boy?, which has been performed at the Edinburgh Fringe, Brighton Fringe, Woool Comedy Festival and Glasgow Comedy Festival. Since his debut in November 2018 his comedy has been lit up with positive reviews. Ben has also been in high demand at pride events and LGBT+ focused events across the North West and beyond.
‘Relatable, even if his experiences are unusual’ – Chortle
“Ben is such an exciting act. Tonnes of charm and stage presence all topped off with killer jokes.” – Kiri Pritchard-Mclean
Sian Davies:
Sian won the Edinburgh Comedy Award Panel Prize for Best in Class in 2022, the award for Best Debut Show at the Leicester Comedy Festival in 2020, was runner up in the Funny Women Stage Award in 2019 and winner of Hilarity Bites Best New Act in 2018. She can be seen on Comedy Central Live and has recently recorded a stand up special for Next Up.
As a recipient of The Hive mentorship award from Greater Manchester Fringe, Sian was able to develop her first solo stand-up show, the aptly named About Time. In 2021 Sian was selected through the Open Call scheme to be part of the re-opening program at Unity Theatre, Liverpool. Sian debuted her latest show, This Charming Man, to a sold-out Unity Theatre as part of Homotopia Festival in November 2022.
She is working class and queer, and fiercely proud of belonging to both communities.
About Up Next Festival:
Up Next Comedy Night is part of Up Next 2024 – a two-week arts festival celebrating Merseyside artists.
With a line-up programmed through the Unity Open Call, Up Next Festival features 11 brand-new shows from some of the region’s most exciting artists and companies, plus a comedy night, exhibition launch, live music, panel discussions, creative events and more.
