A NEW comedy festival is set to bring some of the UK's funniest performers to west Cornwall this autumn as the first ever Penzance Comedy Festival will be held between Thursday, October 1 to Saturday, October 3.

Featuring performances across eight venues in the heart of Penzance, the festival will showcase an extensive programme of comedy.

The festival will take place The Front Room Bar & Kitchen, The Copper Fox, The Admiral Benbow, The Lugger Inn, The Globe and Ale House, The Mexico Inn, Pixel Penzance and The Ritz. The outstanding line up of performers includes Matt Price, Suzy Bennett and Mike Capozzola.

A grand finale will be hosted at The Ritz, presented by The Laughter Lab in association with the Penzance Comedy Festival with line-up to be confirmed.

The festival was the brainchild of Loretta Caughlin, owner of The Front Room Bar & Kitchen. A lifelong stand-up comedy fan, Loretta has travelled around the country to attend comedy festivals and believed that Penzance had everything needed to host a comedy festival of its own and set to work.

She said: "I've loved live comedy for years and after visiting the Exeter Comedy Festival I came home thinking, 'Why doesn't Penzance have something like this?'

“The more I thought about it, the more I realised that if it was ever going to happen, someone needed to take the first step, so I did!

"My aim has always been to create something that is affordable, welcoming and showcases brilliant comedians while bringing people into the town and supporting local businesses."

The festival has been made possible thanks to funding from the Penzance Business Improvement District (BID), together with the generosity of local businesses. Cornwall comedy promoter Graham Wilkes has worked alongside Loretta to curate an exciting line-up.

The full programme and festival information will be available at pzcomedyfestival.co.uk