Milton Keynes Comedy Festival launch night showcase

Milton Keynes Comedy Festival Launch Night!

For one long weekend, venues across the city will host an exciting programme of live comedy, including stand-up shows, Edinburgh preview performances, interactive dining experiences and family-friendly workshops. Whether you're planning a Friday night out, a Saturday showcase with friends, or daytime comedy for younger audiences, there’s something for every taste and budget.

Join us as we celebrate the official launch of the Milton Keynes Comedy Festival at Hotel La Tour!

Hosted by the brilliant Matt Richardson and featuring comedy icons Joe Pasquale, Simon Brodkin, and Sara Pascoe, this unforgettable evening promises world-class stand-up, electric atmosphere, and huge laughs from start to finish.

Don’t miss your chance to witness comedy legends live on stage and kick off the festival in style!

Joe Pasquale

Joe’s TV career started as a runner-up on ‘New Faces’ in 1987 and since then, he has gone on to be crowned King Of The Jungle on ITV’s ‘I’m a Celebrity Get Me out Of Here’ in 2004; Hosted an ITV Special ‘An Audience With Joe Pasquale’; hosted the long running television series ‘The Price Is Right’ for ITV, starred in ITV’s ‘Dancing on Ice’ in 2013; dangled from the ceiling of the London Palladium for ITV’s ‘Live From The Palladium’; taken part in ITV’s ‘Sugar Free Farm’; Bared all on ITV1’s ‘The All New Monty: Who Bares Wins’ for Stand-up To Cancer; appeared on five Royal Variety Performances; spent time in a Costa Rican prison for Virgin One’s ‘The Prisoner X’ documentary season; spent five days alone in the jungles of Guyana for Discovery Channels ‘Alone In The Wild Series’; had numerous guest appearances on BBC’s ‘Celebrity Mastermind’ and ‘Celebrity Chase’ and most recently won ITV1’s ‘I’m A Celebrity – Masked Singer Special’ (2023), as well as being a regular contributor on C4’s ‘The Last Leg’

Sara Pascoe

Sara Pascoe is a critically acclaimed comedian, author, screenwriter and broadcaster whose latest stand-up show I Am a Strange Gloop is her biggest ever and will tour the UK, Australia and Canada from 2025, including playing the UK's iconic London Palladium in 2026. 

2025 also saw Sara's return to hosting The Great British Sewing Bee for BBC One and starring alongside a stella line up of British comedians in Prime Video’s Last One Laughing UK, co-hosted by Jimmy Carr and Roisin Conaty. As a TV regular, Sara has appeared on the likes of Taskmaster (C4), Live at the Apollo (BBC Two), QI (BBC Two), 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown (Channel 4) and Mock the Week (BBC Two) to name a few.

Sara is the co-host, alongside comedian and long-time friend Cariad Lloyd of Sara & Cariad’s Weirdos Book Club - an audio book club for people who don’t like wine, or nibbles, or being around other people. As an author, Sara released her first novel Weirdo in 2023, following Sunday Times Best Selling non-fiction book Sex, Power, Money. Sara’s break out book Animal - which combined autobiography with evolutional history, was developed into the full BBC sitcom.

Simon Brodkin

Acclaimed character comedian and “the world’s most famous blagger” (The Daily Telegraph). Simon is now performing as himself.

Star of Britain’s Greatest Hoaxer (Channel 4) Simon hit global headlines multiple times for his high-profile stunts, including handing Theresa May a P45 during her speech at the Conservative Party Conference, showering disgraced FIFA president Sepp Blatter with bank notes, and surrounding Donald Trump at the opening of his golf courses with 60 swastika-emblazoned golf balls.

He also is known for attaching a 25-foot sign to the side of Sir Philip Green’s super yacht, and going on Britain’s Got Talent as the ultra-orthodox Jewish rapper Steven Goldblatt – fooling Simon Cowell and the other judges to win four ‘yeses’. Britain’s Greatest Hoaxer was nominated for best Documentary at the Monte Carlo TV Festival Golden Nymph Awards 2018.

In a previous stunt, Simon also managed to join Kanye West as the American performed his headline Glastonbury set on the Pyramid Stage. He rapped alongside West in front of 200,000 people into a toy microphone he’d bought from Argos. In character as Premier League footballer Jason Bent, Simon has warmed up with the Manchester City team before a fixture against Everton and joined the England squad as they were boarding the plane to the World Cup in Brazil. Simon’s most famous character is “comedy legend” (The Sun) Lee Nelson, writing and staring in two series of BBC Three’s ratings smash Lee Nelson’s Well Good Show and the sketch series Lee Nelson’s Well Funny People, which introduced the nation to a plethora of brilliant characters.

Matt Richardson

Having started stand-up in 2009 at 18 years old, Matt became one of the youngest comedians on the circuit and soon made it through to the finals of two national stand-up competitions – the prestigious So You Think You’re Funny and the Chortle Student Comedy Award – as well as coming runner up in the Reading Comedy Festival New Act of the Year and winning the Newbury and Bath Comedy Festival new act competitions – all while still in his teens.

He quickly established himself in all of the major comedy club chains in the UK and has gigged overseas on countless occasions.

Jump forward to 2020 and Matt is a seasoned TV host, having presented shows such as The Hangover Games (E4) and The Red Bull Soapbox Race (Dave), Celebrity Haunted Mansion and Celebrity Haunted Hotel (W) alongside Christine Lampard, and helming the spin off shows for both alone. He has also hosted two different ITV2 Documentaries – Pampered Pooches: Hollywood and Meet The Family Guys, both filmed in LA, and helmed Just Tattoo Of Us: The Aftermath for MTV. His first ever presenting gig was hosting The Xtra Factor (ITV2) in 2013 alongside Caroline Flack at the age of 22.

He was the host of Virgin Radio’s Drive Time Show for three years before leaving to focus on his true passion of comedy. He is the co-host of the hit comedy podcast When No One’s Watching, with Matt Willis of Busted. They have had a fantastic selection of guests including; Keith Lemon, Tom Fletcher, Darren Harriott, Emma Willis, and Helen Bauer.

As well as all the presenting he has appeared on countless other TV shows, including Comedy Game Night, Roast Battle& Drunk History(Comedy Central), Nevermind The Buzzcocks (BBC2), Celebrity Juice, CelebAbility, The Stand Up Sketch Showseries 2 & 3, Hey Tracey, The Chase: Celebrity Christmas Special, The Chris Ramsey Show, Top Gear: Extra Gear, Love Island: Aftersun (ITV2), and pretty much any spin-off show you can name…

In 2013 Matt headed out on his first ever award-winning tour Hometown Hero in 2013. It was to 54 dates into spring 2014. After a break from touring he took a brand new show to Edinburgh in 2017 – called Slash – which gained several 5 star reviews and went onto tour for 60 dates. In 2024 Matt will be heading back off on tour around the UK with his new show Brash.

Timings: Doors: 7pm. Show Start: 8pm

Tickets: £32

Address: Hotel La Tour, 400 Marlborough Gate, Milton Keynes MK9 3FP