Glasgow International Comedy Festival launches 2026 programme
Rosie O'Donnell, Daniel Sloss, Alan Davies, Tim Key and more lead a line-up of grassroots and international talent
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The Glasgow International Comedy Festival (GICF) has announced its latest stellar line-up for 2026, which promises 560 shows in 40 venues across the city from Wednesday 11–Sunday 29 March, with tickets on sale now.
A few notable acts hitting the festival include Rosie O’Donnell, Harry Enfield, Ruby Wax, Sue Perkins, Daniel Sloss, Alan Davies, Bridget Christie, Karen Dunbar, Jack Docherty, Susie McCabe, Tim Key, Connor Burns, Marjolein Robertson, Judi Love, Marc Jennings, Des Clarke and Mhairi Black, alongside hundreds of other acts in venues as diverse as The OVO Hydro, SEC Armadillo, King’s Theatre, The Stand, Blackfriars Basement, Òran Mór, Gael & Grain, The Old Hairdresser’s and Drygate.
Now in its 25th edition, the festival will play host to its third Introduction To Comedy, a free six-week programme for women and marginalised genders. Previous graduates from the course include include Kim Blythe, Ifrah Qureshi, Maddie Fernando, and Rowan Hackett. Meanwhile, the more eccentric end of live performance will be catered for with shows like CatGPT – Unhinged (which explores one man’s mission to resurrect his cat via ChatGPT) and Fesshole, a stage adaptation of the popular site featuring people’s most cringe-inducing confessions.
Festival Director Krista MacDonald said: ‘2026 is set to be a bumper year for Glasgow International Comedy Festival as we welcome some of comedy’s biggest stars for headline shows, including Harry Enfield, Rosie O’Donnell, Sue Perkins, Alan Davies, Ruby Wax and many more.
‘A core principle of the festival is to spotlight homegrown comedians. This year more than ever, Scottish talent is well and truly on display with Daniel Sloss, Susie McCabe, Connor Burns, Craig Hill, Karen Dunbar, Christopher Macarthur-Boyd, Kim Blythe, Rosco McClelland, Marjolein Robertson and countless more taking to the GICF stage. Plus, our Introduction To Comedy course for women and marginalised genders will return for its third year, having already platformed some fantastic new comedians, alongside a diverse programme with family shows, podcasts, traditional stand-up, magic, musical comedy and much more on offer.
‘Comedy is at Glasgow’s core and there’s no better way to celebrate that than 19 days of top talent in iconic venues whether in 50-seater pubs or clubs, cinemas and theatres or large-scale venues like the OVO Hydro and SEC Armadillo.
‘With over 100,000 tickets now on sale for 2026, it’s been a real thrill to see the festival grow year on year, welcoming new comedy fans to the fold and celebrating Glasgow’s world-renowned comedy legacy. Each year, we are so proud to shine a light on this city’s talent and provide new platforms for comedians within our Comedy Connects programme which aims to make comedy more accessible for all, fans and comics alike, in the funniest city in the world.
‘We’re looking forward to celebrating another year of GICF following 2025’s record-breaking edition. We hope you can join us in 2026 to see some of comedy’s brightest rising stars and international talent entertain Glasgow once more.’
Glasgow International Comedy Festival, various venues, Glasgow, Wednesday 11–Sunday 29 March; main picture: Elaine Livingstone.