Comedian tops Devizes Festival bill (From This Is Wiltshire)

Comedian tops Devizes Festival bill

1:20pm Wednesday 10th March 2010 in

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Alexei Sayle will be the latest in a long line of comic geniuses to perform at Devizes Festival.

But the 57-year-old Liverpool-born comedian will not be doing a stand-up routine when he appears in the Assembly Room at the town hall on Monday June 7.

Instead, he will be talking about his writing career, which includes novels and collections of short stories, such as Mister Roberts and Barcelona Plates.

He is probably best known for his appearances in the TV comedy The Young Ones and his own TV series, Alexei Sayle’s Stuff.

Another Merseysider to have signed up for this year’s festival is Merseybeat poet Brian Patten. Mr Patten will be reading his poetry at the town hall on June 20.

The festival’s Comedy Night, the first event, will feature the American stand-up comic Rich Hall. Mr Hall will be familiar through his appearances on QI and the BBC4 programme How the West was Lost.

The Blues Night will feature American guitarist Buddy Whittington, the former lead guitarist with the Blues Breakers.

The headline act on Folk Night is Ian Matthews, a founder member of Fairport Convention.

The festival brochure will be published in early May.