James Acaster, Josh Widdicombe, Impractical Jokers and more: Line up revealed for Birmingham Comedy Festival 2019

Thirty four-year-old comedy star James Acaster will kick off the festival at Birmingham's Town Hall on October 4, whose previous shows have earned him five Best Comedy Show nominations at the Edinburgh Fringe.

Other shows on the 10-day festival include Josh Widdicombe, Henning Wehn, broadcaster Jonathan Pie, Reginald D Hunter, Comedy Central's Impractical Jokers, food critic Jay Rayner, found video collective Everything Is Terrible, and poet Pam Ayres during the festival run.

There's also plenty of acts from the West Midlands, including shows from Josh Pugh, Samantha Pressdee, and Danny Clives and Good Kids.

The Birmingham Comedy Festival free half-dayers are also back by popular demand. Featuring 16 free shows in Birmingham city centre on successive Sunday afternoons, the line-up includes Susan Murray, James Cook's Board Game Smackdown, a new show from the multi-award-winning Rob Kemp, UK Pun Champion 2017 Lovdev Barpaga, Sarah Johnson, and more.

Improv acts that will perform during the event include Jumprov and Foghorn Unscripted, while Fat Penguin's Birmingham Comedy Festival Improvised Comedy All-Dayer will unveil eight troupes from around the UK, culminating in a never-to-be-repeated Improv Jam.

A spokesperson for the festival said: “We’ve got another packed line-up this year with over 80 performances featuring not only stand-up comedy, but also improv’, theatre, music, game shows, fine art, a murder mystery, and loads more.

"There’s plenty of well-known names – like James Acaster, Josh Widdicombe and America’s Impractical Jokers – but also some great emerging talent, particularly from across the region.”

The Birmingham Comedy Festival runs from October 4 to 13 at venues across the city.

For more information and to buy tickets, click here.