Shrewsbury International Comedy Festival: ‘A first’ for Gala Show as TV magician Pete Firman is added to 2023 line-up
Pete Firman, the UK’s leading comedy magician has been added to the line-up of the 2023 Shrewsbury International Comedy Festival (SICF) flagship Gala Show.
The highlight of SICF will take place at Theatre Severn on the evening of Sunday 16 July. The festival will also include performances from other comedians at multiple venues throughout Shrewsbury.
Described by Time Out magazine as ‘the funniest and by far the most accomplished performer on the New Magic scene…funnier than most comedians and more magical than Dumbledore on a good day’, Pete Firman’s live performances have taken him all over the world. His one-person shows have entertained sell-out audiences for over ten years at the Edinburgh Fringe and on numerous UK tours.
Having first graced TV screens in Channel 5’s groundbreaking series Monkey Magic and later starred in BBC1′s prime-time Saturday night series The Magicians, Pete has also appeared on The John Bishop Show, The Sarah Millican Television Programme and The One Show among many others. His contributions to several TV retrospectives include 50 Greatest Magic Tricks (Channel 4) and When Magic Tricks Go Horribly Wrong (Channel 5).
Pete has also published Tricks To Freak Out Your Friends, a beginner’s magic book for the 21st century, which is now in its second print run. He will be performing alongside Adam Rowe, Clinton Baptiste and Paul Sinha, the acts booked to appear so far at the SICF Gala Show.
Festival director Kevin Bland said: “This a first for the festival. We’ve never had a magician before and it’s especially pleasing that someone with Pete’s calibre is not only leading the way, but at the same time following in the footsteps of great comedy magicians such as Tommy Cooper. It’ll be fun to add some mystery to the festival and I’m sure the audience will love his stage show, which apparently includes the world’s fastest magic trick!”
Tickets for the SICF Gala Show on 16 July are £33.50 and available through the Theatre Severn box office 01743 281281 or online here: https://theatresevern.co.uk/shows/whatson/shrewsbury-international-comedy-festival-gala-2023
Picture: Pete Firman (credit: Karla Gowlett).
