BBC Radio Wales Partnership Announced.

Machynlleth Comedy Festival are thrilled to announce a brand new partnership with BBC Radio Wales. The partnership will lead to even more of the station’s programming coming from this year’s festival and the renaming of our flagship venue to The BBC Radio Wales Mach Arena.

Festival Director Henry Widdicombe said “we’ve been working closely with BBC Radio Wales since the very early days of the Festival and so the new partnership feels very much like a natural progression of our work together. We’re delighted to be developing our relationship with BBC Radio Wales given their current investment and focus on Welsh comedy talent and programming.”

Colin Paterson, Editor BBC Radio Wales: “Radio Wales has been a long-term supporter of the festival, featuring the first festival on-air way back in 2010. This year will see our largest amount of programming yet coming from the town during the weekend of the festival and lending our name to the largest venue on the festival site demonstrates BBC Radio Wales’ growing commitment to comedy in Wales. It proves we’re very much in line with BBC Wales’ wider plans to develop Comedy on TV, Radio and Online over the next few years.”

BBC Radio Wales will host two shows from the Mach Arena over the festival weekend.

Rhod Gilbert will broadcast a special live edition of his Saturday morning show on 5 May from the BBC Radio Wales Mach Arena which will feature comedians appearing at the festival, along with live music performances in front of an audience.

On Sunday 6 May Anglesey’s Kiri Pritchard-Mclean will host the Radio Wales Machynlleth Comedy Festival Showcase from the same venue that will see some of the biggest names from the festival performing a stand-up set. The show will be broadcast on BBC Radio Wales on Monday 7 May and BBC Radio 4 Extra the following week.

And that’s not all! BBC Writersroom Wales will be returning to Machynlleth with a panel discussion on how to get into the industry. A must for anyone who is looking for routes into comedy. Radio Wales’ topical news comedy show The Leak has the honour of being the first show being performed at this year’s festival. Early arrivers to Machynlleth will be able to attend a free recording of the programme at 4pm on Friday 4 May in The Tabernacle venue. And on Saturday evening, Bethan Elfyn’s weekly music show will come live from the centre of the festival on the lawns outside the BBC Radio Wales Mach Arena between 7-10pm.

Tickets for all 4 events will go live on the website at 12:30pm on Friday 16th March, and are absolutely free! Demand has been high in previous years, and even though capacity is far greater this year we advise you to act fast if these events appeal to you.