Belly Laughs gig announced to raise money for Bristol Old Vic alongside other local charities
29 Apr 2020
It’s time for #BellyLaughsAtHome - a night of Bristol-based comedy for not one but four good causes!
Bristol, have we got a treat for you. On Sunday 10th May at 7:30pm sharp, Mark Olver will be bringing his own unique brand of belly laughs back to life for one special night of lockdown entertainment.
Together with some of his comedian friends and familiar Bristol faces (including Russell Howard, Jon Richardson, Alex Lovell, Jayde Adams, John Robins, Joe Wilkinson and more) he’ll be celebrating our glorious city whilst raising money for FareShare South West, Julian Trust, Bristol Old Vic and the Great Western Air Ambulance charities.
Mark said “We do stuff in that area where food, comedy and doing good stuff for others meets. We’re known most for our January gigs but the world’s gone a little bit crazy right now and I think Belly Laughs at home could be the antidote to that - for a couple of hours anyway. I’m always blown away by people’s generosity at these events and am sure we can raise some money for these great causes whilst having a bit of a laugh at the same time”.
We’re asking people to make a donation of £4.00 or whatever they can afford before watching the gig live on 10th May. Head to https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/belly-laughs-at-home to donate and receive viewing instructions for the night itself.
It wouldn’t be a Belly Laughs gig without a good meal so we’re also encouraging everyone to join us with a takeaway from their favourite Bristol independent (be it food or drink or both!). We’ll be sharing links to some of our favourites in the coming days so keep an eye on the BellyLaugh social media channels for more details.
Bristol Old Vic Engagement Director Lucy Hunt said: "We're absolutely blown away at this amazing offer to support not just our community work, but also the inspirational work of the other charities who are such a key part of keeping Bristol and the region going at this desperately difficult time. Thank you to Mark and the Belly Laughs team for organising this comedy spectacular which has Bristol at its heart. We'll all be watching - and eating!"
Bristol Old Vic is the longest continuously running theatre in the UK, and celebrated its 250th anniversary in 2016. The historic playhouse aims to inspire audiences with its own original productions, both at home and on tour, whilst nurturing the next generation of artists, whether that be through their 350-strong Young Company, their many outreach and education projects or their trailblazing artist development programme, Bristol Ferment.
They use their funding to support experiment and innovation, to allow access to their programme for people who would not otherwise encounter it, or be able to afford it, and to keep their extraordinary heritage alive and animated.
On 24 Sep 2018, Bristol Old Vic completed its 2-year multi-million pound redevelopment project, which transformed its front of house space into a warm and welcoming public building for all of Bristol to enjoy, created a new studio theatre and opened up its unique theatrical heritage to the public for the first time.