This April Fool’s Day come and explore the history of live comedy in a tour of the British Stand-Up Comedy Archive.
Comedy expert Oliver Double will introduce you to some incredible archive material, including scripts and set lists from comedians like Linda Smith, Robin Ince and Stewart Lee; an original Comedy Store poster; scripts of The Young Ones; one of Harry Hill’s suits; and a tangerine donated by Josie Long. What’s a tangerine got to do with live comedy? Come along and find out!
The British Stand-Up Comedy Archive (BSUCA) celebrates, preserves, and provides access to the archives and records of British stand-up comedy and comedians. The collections contain audio visual recordings, scripts, publicity material, photographs, press, correspondence, and props. The inspiration for the establishment of this archive was the deposit at the University of the personal archive of the comedian Linda Smith (1958-2006). The archive was established by the University of Kent’s Special Collections & Archives and with Dr Oliver Double and the Department of Drama and Theatre at the University of Kent.
We’re very excited to be collaborating with Olly on this free event as part of this year’s Live Comedy Day. The event will be held in the Templeman Library on Wednesday 1st April 2026. Book your place here!
Find a complete listing of Live Comedy Day events at https://livecomedyday.co.uk/events.
