THE Falmouth Cringe comedy festival announces headline acts for its second year of performances: Shaparak Khorsandi, Tim Key and Kiri Pritchard Mclean.

Kiri Pritchard Mclean has appeared on Have I Got News for You, Russell Howard's Stand Up Central on Comedy Central and ITV's Elevenish, Hypothetical, and Channel 4's 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown as well as multiple appearances on the BBC Radio 4 shows The Now Show, The News Quiz and Elis James' State of the Nation. 

Kiri opens the festival with her WIP show alongside rising star of UK comedy scene and beloved local comedian Kev Mud (British comedian of the year finalist.) 

Shaparak (Shappi) Khorsandi has appeared on countless TV & Radio shows, including: Live at the Apollo, Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow, I’m a Celebrity: Get Me Out of Here, Mock The Week, 8 Out Of 10 Cats, MasterChef, Have I Got News For You, QI, Pointless Celebrities, Question Time and Just a Minute, as well as her own show, Shappi Talk.

She will be closing The Falmouth Cringe with her brand new feel good comedy show, ‘It Was the 90’s’ that takes a look at Shaparak’s youth, and how 90s kids are looking to young people to learn how to take care of themselves. Tickets are now on sale for the show that will be appearing at Solskinn - The Church. 

Tim Key (Alan Partridge, The Witchfinder, Tim Key’s Late Night Poetry Programme) is set to return to The Falmouth Cringe in 2023. Key opened the inaugural Falmouth Cringe in 2022, with a sell-out performance of ‘Mulberry’, his newest show that has been hailed as ‘The greatest stand-up response to Lockdown so far’ by The Times. Because Tim sold out in record time in 2022, The Falmouth Cringe have invited him back to Cornwall. Tim will be performing at The Poly on Saturday 8 July, with tickets now on sale. 

The Falmouth Cringe is a bespoke comedy festival, returning after a hugely successful inaugural festival in 2022, and is the first of its kind in the South West of England.

The festival will give audiences in Cornwall the opportunity to enjoy high-quality comedy with a new fringe-style comedy festival to match others across the UK for a second year, with four headline gigs taking place during the weekend alongside a variety of new and exciting acts.

Running from 6 July to 9 July, The Falmouth Cringe is coming back to 8 local, independent venues in Falmouth over the four-day weekend, bringing 38 comedy performances to the town to showcase talent from across the country and nurture and champion homegrown comedians. 

The Cringe will also host the ‘Cornwall Comedian of the Year’ final, featuring last year’s winner, Mimi Attenburrow, where 8 finalists will compete for the audience's vote to win the crowning 2023 title. 

Co-director, Franciska Earle, said: "We launched the first Falmouth Cringe last year, bringing people from all over the South West together to have a giggle. We’re delighted we were able to announce an even bigger and better comedy festival this year.

"Why should Cornwall be left off the comedy map? There’s plenty of incredible homegrown acts in this county, and we don’t believe that local people should have to travel hours to see the best live shows. 

"Our line-up is truly exciting, and we’re delighted to have Shaparak and Tim as our final additions to the programme. As the Cornish would say, “any better and we couldn’t stand it.”