Slapstick reveals celebrity host for 2024 gala at the Bristol Beacon

Slapstick, Bristol’s globally renowned festival of classic and silent screen comedy, has revealed that multiple award-winning actor Hugh Bonneville will host its 20th annual gala, which forms the centrepiece of the 2024 festival. The Paddington and Downton Abbey star will introduce a triple bill of films on a giant screen at the Bristol Beacon, with live musical accompaniment from the sixteen-piece Bristol Ensemble.

The main feature is Charlie Chaplin’s 1925 classic The Gold Rush, which includes some of his funniest set-pieces. His Little Tramp character is a prospector who joins the Klondike Gold Rush and suffers all manner of privations. Had wokeness been a thing back then, Chaplin would almost certainly have been cancelled for finding comedy in such then-recent tragedy as the ill-fated Donner Party of pioneers who resorted to cannibalism to stay alive. But fortunately it wasn’t, so we can still enjoy the scenes in which the starving Little Tramp cooks and eats one of his shoes and a delirious fellow prospector sees him as a giant chicken. The film also features Chaplin’s signature, oft-imitated ‘bread roll dance’. Interestingly, all those impressive snowscapes were created on the backlot of Chaplin’s own studio in sunny Hollywood.

Buster Keaton in ‘Cops’

There are two supporting short films. In 1922’s Cops, Buster Keaton finds himself pursued by a city’s entire police force. It wouldn’t be Slapstick without Laurel and Hardy, so they’re represented by Big Business (1929), in which the hapless duo play the world’s most incompetent Christmas tree salesmen.

In addition to all the fun in the auditorium, the Shanghai Shuffle jazz band will be playing music of the silent era in the foyer from 6.15pm onwards.

Charlie Chaplin performs the bread roll dance in ‘The Gold Rush’. Pic: © Roy Export S.A.S.

The gala on Friday 16 February will be Hugh Bonneville’s first visit to Slapstick and the festival’s first event in the newly refurbished main hall at The Beacon. “The gala is always a highlight of our festivals, but we’ve greatly missed being able to stage them in a hall big enough to meet the demand for places,” says festival director Chris Daniels. “It is a special delight, therefore, that our 20th gala is back where they began and to have Hugh Bonneville, a screen comedy superfan, as our host.”

Tickets are on sale from Friday 8 September, priced from £16 to £55. There’s an early bird discount for tickets purchased before the end of September. Visit the Slapstick website for details.

Slapstick 2024 takes place from Wednesday 14 February to Sunday 18 February at venues including The Beacon, St George’s and Watershed. The full programme is due to be announced in mid-October. Watch this space for full details as we get them.

Main pic of Hugh Bonneville: David Betteridge