22nd-24th June 2007 – Glastonbury Festival
Location: Worthy Farm, Pilton
With: Lauren Hearn and David Graffham
Highlights: The Fratellis, The Magic Numbers, Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen, Arctic Monkeys, & The Killers
Comment: My first ever Glastonbury – back in the days when security was so lax that no one asked for proof we were over 18 to do the off-site stewarding (we weren’t) and no one cared that my name wasn’t “Chentelle Bupht”. It was one of the best times of my life. We had to do 24 hours of shifts (which we got out of the way overnight on the Weds/Thurs) and then the festival was ours. We lived in the same clothes all weekend, barely moved from the Pyramid Stage, and by the time it was over I was so exhausted I cried all the way home, and so filthy I needed two baths in a row. I had never been happier.
27th-29th June 2008 – Glastonbury Festival
Location: Worthy Farm, Pilton
With: Lauren Hearn, David Graffham & Amy Stuart
Highlights: The Fratellis, Cerys Matthews, Alphabeat, Amy Winehouse, Panic! At The Disco, & Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly.
Comment: Our second Glastonbury and we felt like pros – I even had my name spelt right on my ticket. This year Amy came with us, and we shared our wisdom with her beforehand – “whatever you do, don’t forget wellies” – but she still turned up in flip flops. By the second day, the sight of her struggling in the mud practically barefoot, caused a complete stranger to actually buy her a pair of overpriced boots, just so he didn’t have to watch any more of it.
26th-28th June 2009 – Glastonbury Festival
Location: Worthy Farm, Pilton
With: Lauren Hearn and David Graffham
Highlights: Black Eyed Peas, Emmy the Great, Tom Jones, The Magic Numbers & Bruce Springsteen
Comment: 2009 was the year Michael Jackson died. We had already started our night shift when the news broke over the walkie-talkies. No one knew if it was true or not, and we had no internet access, but the atmosphere at the festival the next day confirmed it. It was all anyone could talk about, and a lot of the acts changed their setlists to include tributes. The mood of the whole weekend had shifted to shock and commemorative celebration. It was a unique collective experience.
25th-27th June 2010 – Glastonbury Festival
Location: Worthy Farm, Pilton
With: Lauren Hearn and David Graffham
Highlights: Scissor Sisters, The Magic Numbers & Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly.
Comment: It’s sad to think 2010 may have been my last Glastonbury ever – I have so many happy memories from my times there over the years. Truthfully though, by this stage there was a significant drop in the amount of acts I wanted to see, and between night shifts I ended up driving home to sleep instead of camping properly like previous years. It was time to call it a day.
2nd-5th February 2018 – Weekend on the Dancefloor
“Butlins Minehead hosts Steps Weekend on the Dancefloor, a break showcasing three days and nights of glorious pop happening from Friday 2nd to Monday 5th February 2018 at Butlins Minehead Resort.“
Location: Butlins, Minehead
With: Wesley Mead
Headliners: Steps
Music Highlights: Vengaboys, The Honeyz
Comedy Highlights: Joanne McNally
Comment: This was the best weekend – all the excitement of a festival, but with a real bed at the end of the night, and water slides to wake up to. Steps were so good we immediately went back to our room and booked tickets to see them again a few months later.
26th-28th May 2023 – Wells Comedy Festival
26th May 2023 – Rhys James
“Like everyone in their thirties, Rhys is now free from the burden of his own potential, never to be called ‘young’ for an achievement again, unless that achievement is dying. There’s nothing like lifted pressure to make you realise a few truths about the world; none of us are self-aware enough to write our own New Year’s resolutions, every vote for the Green Party has been an unfortunate waste of paper, and until you’re wearing a plaster you don’t realise quite how frequently that part of your body is wet. More to the point, he’s discovered mindfulness is a scam, made up of little more than empty mantras, intentionally freezing showers and glorified PE. Everyone may be fighting their own mental battle, but they’re doing it wrong.“
Show Title: Spilt Milk
Location: Cedars Hall, Wells
With: Wesley Mead
26th May 2023 – Jordan Brookes
“A while back, I found a video online of an animated snake crawling, made for entertaining cats. My cat got bored, but I carried on watching. I was transfixed. I’d like to recreate that experience for you. For an hour, all I’ll be is a snake (man) for cats (people) to watch.“
Show Title: Snakes for Cats to Watch
Location: Little Theatre, Wells
With: Wesley Mead
Comment: Possibly the smallest show we’ve ever seen. There were literally about 20 of us. Jordan is the whole reason we went to the festival though – we booked tickets for him first, and then thought “while we’re here, we might as well see some others…”
27th May 2023 – Mark Watson
“Mark Watson’s 12-year-old son just got a phone. His 70-year-old dad has been through the most frightening experience of his life. Both a dad and a kid himself, around the midpoint of his life, the Taskmaster star, multiple award-winner and Fringe legend returns to consider the search for meaning that we’re all on, with or without Google.”
Show Title: Search
Location: Cedars Hall, Wells
With: Wesley Mead
27th May 2023 – Rosie Jones
“Join Rosie as she ponders whether she is a national treasure, a little prick, or somewhere in between! This show is guaranteed to be full of unapologetic cheekiness, nonsensical fun and unadulterated joy from the triple threat herself.”
Show Title: Triple Threat
Location: Cedars Hall, Wells
With: Wesley Mead
Comment: I was so desperate to see Rosie that we actually booked tickets for Bath too, just in case we didn’t get to see her in Wells for any reason (illness etc.) We didn’t go twice though… although I did consider it!
28th May 2023 – Sam Campbell
“A collection of stand-up comedy routines and pictures from my recent holiday. You can expect a subdued performance, though there is every chance I will become feral and crazy. Hopefully it goes well and I am not banished to the caves.”
Show Title: Mousepad
Location: Little Theatre, Wells
With: Wesley Mead
Comment: We’d heard good things about Sam Campbell as someone who was going to explode onto the comedy scene and become huge. We were not disappointed.
28th May 2023 – Lou Sanders
“It’s the usual fare of talking about crows, cats and tax.”
Show Title: N/A
Location: Cedars Hall, Wells
With: Wesley Mead
Comment: This was the most “work-in-progress” show we’ve ever seen! Most of the time it really means “an almost finished show which just needs a few tweaks”, but Lou openly said she hadn’t written anything! It was an hour of her ad-libbing and answering audience questions, which was still good fun.
28th May 2023 – Richard Herring 
“Richard Herring makes a return to stand up after a five year hiatus and will be trying out new material, probably mainly about losing a testicle, but maybe some other stuff too. Puppets may be involved. The show, Like Richard, is a work in progress.“
Show Title: Can I Have My Ball Back?
Location: Little Theatre, Wells
With: Wesley Mead
Comment: Photos available on the “Celebrity Encounters” page.
28th May 2023 – James Acaster
““One of comedy’s most original voices” (Evening Standard) has written a new show. He’s very proud of it. That being said, you are allowed to ruin it. Fill your boots.“
Show Title: Hecklers Welcome
Location: Cedars Hall, Wells
With: Wesley Mead
Comment: The first time we saw James Acaster was a tiny pub venue, and soon after that he became huge, so it was a great opportunity to see him in a fairly small venue again.
24th-26th May 2024 – Wells Comedy Festival
24th May 2024 – Nish Kumar
“Work-in-progress show for a new tour. In this election year – with the country in turmoil – there’s only one comedian who can kill the mood even further… Nish Kumar. One of The Guardian and The Telegraph’s 50 Best Comedians of the 21st Century is back with a brand-new politically charged stand-up show.“
Show Title: Nish, Don’t Kill My Vibe
Location: Little Theatre, Wells
With: Wesley Mead
Comment: At one point Nish paused what he was saying to comment on Wes’ t-shirt (Itchy and Scratchy Land). He said some comedians would call him a nerd for it, but he thought it was really cool.
24th May 2024 – Sara Barron
“Barron unpacks her passion for eavesdropping, a hatred of the countryside, Gary Barlow, nudists, and one awful thing that she did to her mom.“
Show Title: N/A
Location: Little Theatre, Wells
With: Wesley Mead
24th May 2024 – Amy Annette
“AMY ANNETTE SPEAKS OUT. Which comic support for Lou Sanders, Tessa Coates & Rose Matafeo has been CAUGHT doing a WORK IN PROGRESS?“
Show Title: Circle of Shame
Location: Little Theatre, Wells
With: Wesley Mead
Comment: We hadn’t heard of Amy Annette before, but bought tickets for her show last minute after watching Nish Kumar and learning that she was his long term girlfriend. He recommended her show at the end of his.
25th May 2024 – Harriet Kemsley
“Ridiculous things always happen to Harriet, but this year it’s out of control. She’s got to rebuild her whole life and she cannot work out which way the building blocks go.”
Show Title: Everything Always Works Out For Me
Location: Little Theatre, Wells
With: Wesley Mead
Comment: Harriet Kemsley is always a delight to watch. This show was mostly about her recent split from Bobby Mair, which we hadn’t realised had happened until then.
25th May 2024 – Comedy Gala
“Two hours. A surprise line-up of acts. It’s the Wells Comedy Festival Saturday Night Gala.”
Show Title: Saturday Night Gala
Acts: Ania Magliano, Esther Manito, Kemah Bob, Alison Spittle, Desiree Burch
Location: Cedars Hall, Wells
With: Wesley Mead
Comment: We’d been really hoping for Alan Davies to make an appearance, as we’d been unable to get tickets for his Wells show. Instead we saw Ania for the third time; Esther Manito, who wasn’t my cup of tea; Kemah Bob, who Wes really likes at least, although I’m not a fan; and Desiree, who we already had tickets for. Alison Spittle however, was hilarious, and we wouldn’t have gone on to see her in Edinburgh if we hadn’t been introduced during this Gala.
26th May 2024 – Ania Magliano
“It’s that time of year! Ania has some (funny?) things to say and she would like you to listen please.”
Show Title: N/A
Location: Little Theatre, Wells
With: Wesley Mead
Comment: This was the first time we deliberately saw Ania, but the fourth time overall, as she opened for Ed Byrne, Ed Gamble, and the Wells Gala. We needn’t have bought tickets if we’d known how much we’d be seeing her accidentally!
26th May 2024 – Desiree Burch
“At some point in every woman’s life, she realises she’s madder than all hell. Yep, well – let’s get started… The Mash Report, Taskmaster and Live at the Apollo star, and voice of Netflix’s Too Hot to Handle, returns after a five-year hiatus with a work-in-progress comedy hour examining various masks that are starting to slip: the identities of her countries (USA and UK), her body, youth, and memory. As someone who’s narrowly escaped giving life and experiencing death, she’s the right voice for these very wrong times.“
Show Title: The Golden Wraith
Location: Little Theatre, Wells
With: Wesley Mead
26th May 2024 – Tim Key
“Key is shitting himself about Hallowe’en and can’t stop writing poems about it. So ten of those, some talking, maybe shove some crap in a cauldron, fangs, spine-tingling tunes etc.”
Show Title: Hallowe’ensleydale
Location: Little Theatre, Wells
With: Wesley Mead
Comment: This was not what I expected at all. It was a weirdly atmospheric, sort of 50s detective noir style of story telling. It really stood out as being unique and memorable. Also there was nothing related to Halloween at all – he said he’d forgotten he gave Wells that description!
18th-20th August 2024 – Edinburgh Fringe
18th August 2024 – Jin Hao Li
“In his debut hour, Jin Hao walks you through the seascape of his mind, filled with nightmares of being a spider, dreams of joining the yakuza and breezy memories of serving in the military with the boys. Confronting fear with mischief and imagination, he surprises with gritty softness, honest lies and pockets of joy.“
Show Title: Swimming in a Submarine
Location: Pleasance Courtyard (Below)
With: Wesley Mead
Comment: We hadn’t heard of Jin Hao Li before, but he was getting a lot of buzz online within the usual circles we follow. The show was hilarious, and because it was such a small venue, he was literally greeting people at the door and saying goodbye when they left. We shook his hand and told him it was brilliant. (Even if he did scream in my face at one point during his act!)
18th August 2024 – Tom Cashman
“You may have seen him on TikTok or as the Taskmaster’s Assistant on Taskmaster Australia, but now’s your chance to catch him live. Tom is bringing his unique brand of hilariously analytical stand-up with his new show, Everything. The show features graphs, gags, embarrassing stories… you know, everything.“
Show Title: Everything
Location: Monkey Barrel 2
With: Wesley Mead
Comment: A few comedians we like use PowerPoint presentations as part of their act – Dave Gorman, Paul Williams, Sam Campbell, to name a few, and now Tom Cashman of course. The show was hilarious and so cringe, especially the story and associated footage of his commentary on a photo of William and Harry as young Princes. More photos available on the “Celebrity Encounters” page.
18th August 2024 – Two Hearts
“New Zealand’s hottest comedy pop-music duo Two Hearts are back – now with more “vow” factor. A year ago, real-life power-couple Laura Daniel (Taskmaster NZ) and Joseph Moore (Snort) tied the knot, joined bank accounts and immediately drained it all for a lavish wedding. Join them for hot new songs about love, life and maintaining a successful relationship with your co-worker.“
Show Title: Til Death Do Us Hearts
Location: Pleasance Courtyard (Two)
With: Wesley Mead
Comment: We knew Laura Daniel from Taskmaster NZ, but didn’t know what to expect from this show at all. It was insane. One hour of absolute chaos. Complete slapstick combined with actually having decent songs with funny and clever lyrics. “Self Diagnosed ADHD” now lives rent free in my head. Ironically this is probably because I have ADHD…
19th August 2024 – Alison Spittle
“At the time of blurb, this is going to be about inbuilt misogyny and trying to quantify how fuckable she is compared to the green M&M. Come see the show before she remembers to anonymise people and places.“
Show Title: N/A – Work In Progress
Location: Monkey Barrel 2
With: Wesley Mead
Comment: We saw Alison at the Wells Comedy Gala and she was hilarious. This show was very different – it was more emotional, working through why childhood sexual assault had led to obesity, and the impact on her life. She explained this was her first time talking about some of this content, and cried on stage. We met her afterwards and she gave Wes a hug. More photos available on the “Celebrity Encounters” page.
19th August 2024 – Potty the Plant
“The totally adult dark comedy musical, returns! Starring Potty, a little green singing, talking, tap-dancing pot plant. Annoyingly catchy songs, heart-warming friendships, and twisted humour.“
Show Title: Potty the Plant
Location: Gilded Balloon
With: Wesley Mead
Comment: This was a last minute impulse watch, based on a description describing the show as a cross between Sesame Street, Rocky Horror, Avenue Q, and Little Shop of Horrors. It was really funny. Low budget, but the kind of musical you could imagine becoming a cult classic with a few more resources. SPOILERS AHEAD: Genius twist at the end where you find out that Dr Acula, who seems obsessed with taking blood, sleeps in a coffin, and has children go missing on his watch, isn’t a vampire at all… just a normal paedophile.
19th August 2024 – Paul Williams
“Paul bought a second-hand film camera last year and it turned out the previous owner had left a used-up roll of film in it. This show is about that. Good for all ages but if you’re really old, please only come if you promise to stay calm.“
Show Title: Mamiya 7
Location: Assembly Roxy (Upstairs)
With: Wesley Mead
Comment: Paul Williams is one of our favourite comedians, and favourite celebrities full stop. We had tickets to see this show in London first, but it got cancelled last minute. No worries, we thought, we still have Edinburgh…
We knew something was wrong early on, as Paul was 30 minutes late coming on stage. When he came out he apologised and said his PowerPoint presentation needed to be downloaded from the Cloud, and his internet connection wasn’t working well enough.
He connected his laptop to the screen to show that it was only a few percent downloaded, but said he’d start anyway, and hope it sped up. As he tried to get through his material he was getting more and more despondent as the download just wasn’t progressing. The crowd were all clearly genuine fans, and cheered for him anyway, but by the end he looked ready to cry. At one stage his brother Guy Williams appeared as a punchline which was meant to relate to an earlier section. Paul said to him “I haven’t even set this joke up. The whole thing is effed” then said to the audience “there’s meant to be a big finale here, but I can’t do any of it. This is the worst night of my life. I want to kill myself” and then walked off stage. It was awful. We felt genuinely devastated for him.
Click here to see all Paul Williams content.
19th August 2024 – Guy Williams
“A show about colonisation, racism and misogyny. If you don’t think any of those things are real, or if you think the biggest problem in the world now is ‘people being too easily offended these days’ – please don’t come! This show is about you, and you’ll probably be offended.“
Show Title: This Glass House Makes It Easy To See All The Cowards I’m Throwing Stones At
Location: Assembly George Square Studio 5
With: Wesley Mead
Comment: Guy started his show by saying “how many people here were just in my brother’s show?” and most of the audience raised their hands. He said “yeah, worst show he’s ever done.”
Guy’s performance went well at least. He was doing meet and greets afterwards too, and we really wanted to speak to him (even if just to check on Paul’s mental health!) but we didn’t have enough time.
19th August 2024 – Paul Williams
“For one night only, the Taskmaster NZ star and Lorde’s favourite Kiwi musician (‘That was really nice of her’ – Paul) plays the hits at this year’s Fringe. Fresh from the launch of his sophomore album in London and shows in New York, LA and New Zealand, Paul plays a special late-night gig, featuring the best of Surf Music and his brand-new album.“
Show Title: Paul Williams Plays the Hits
Location: Assembly Checkpoint
With: Wesley Mead
Guests: Nish Kumar, Rose Matafeo, Brynley Stent
Comment: After the album launch show a few months earlier, we were desperate to hear Paul’s new songs again (as the album hadn’t actually been released yet, despite what you’d think), and suddenly really worried he would cancel the show due to his depressed state after his technology failure earlier in the day. Luckily this wasn’t the case, and he even made a joke at the start saying “I wanted to kill myself earlier, but then I remembered I needed to do this show first”.
The whole thing was brilliant. Nish reprised his role on guitar, Rose on vocals for “Bond Themes”, and this time Brynley was there to join her for the “Surf Music” backing dance. We were stood right at the front, touching the stage, about 50cm from Paul himself. Guy Williams, Maria Williams, Guy Montgomery, and David O’Doherty were all in the crowd too. In fact, Guy Williams walked past while we were all queueing outside and was like “are you all queueing for my brother?!” sounding genuinely baffled at how many people were there.
More photos available on the “Celebrity Encounters” page.
Click here to see all Paul Williams content.
20th August 2024 – Flight
“Flight takes place in absolute darkness in an Airbus 320 economy cabin, inside a shipping container. It explores the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics, taking audience members through two worlds, two realities and two possible outcomes to their journey. There are many worlds in which this plane lands safely.“
The inside of the shipping container looks exactly like the inside of a plane. Everyone is given a ticket with a seat number when entering, to ensure groups are split up. You’re given headphones which play binaural 360 degree sound to create full immersion. When the lights go off, it’s so dark you can’t see your own hand in front of your face. As well as the audio, there are vibrations to simulate the plane moving, and flashes of light occasionally which cleverly make the plane look twice as big through some kind of mirror or projection. As for the story which unfolds, I’m not sure the execution made as much sense as it could have done, but I enjoyed the ride anyway. The review below explains it best:
“The audio experience presents a Schrodinger’s Cat scenario: in one reality, you are in a shipping container, in another reality, you are on a crashing plane. Are you alive or dead? Is anyone alive or dead? Does every plane that takes off land safely, or does every plane that takes off crash? In some realities, if you believe in quantum physics, both may be true. You experience the plane crashing and the plane being totally safe and fine in fragments, shifting back and forth between realities.”