Taskmaster star and ground-breaking comic announced as Midlands Fringe headliners

A “comic genius” star of Taskmaster and a ground-breaking comic, actress and writer have been announced as the headline acts of a city-wide arts fringe festival.

Phil Ellis and Shazia Mirza will both bring their own unique comic talents to the stage at the Arena Theatre in Wolverhampton as the headliners of the Midlands Fringe.

This year’s Midlands Fringe will be double the size of last year’s with thirty Fringe shows across eight venues in Wolverhampton’s city centre between Friday, July 17 and Sunday, July 26.

Phil Ellis brings his show Bath Mat to the Arena on Wednesday, July 22, while Shazia Mirza will grace the same stage the following evening with Coconut.

These comedy shows will be preceded by a showing of I Get Knocked Down, the funny, surreal, and deeply human untold story of Chumbawamba and its ex-front man Dunstan Bruce.

This screening, on Monday 20th, will be followed by a Q&A with Dunstan and the film’s co-director Sophie Robinson.

Organisers Poets, Prattlers, and Pandemonialists are currently busy working through more than 70 shows to make their selections after the window for applications closed on June 5.

Thirty Fringe shows in smaller venues, all of which will be pay-as-you-feel events, will be bolstered by a further three headline events in the city’s Arena Theatre.

Midlands Fringe has been made possible by public funding from the National Lottery through Arts Council England, and the organisers said it will once again bring a taste of Edinburgh’s world-famous festival to the West Midlands.

Pandemonialist Dave Pitt said “We can’t wait to bring Midlands Fringe back to Wolverhampton this summer.

“We’ve had some fantastic applications and we know there are some incredible shows in the pipeline, giving opportunities to a range of local and national Fringe performers.

“Watch this space.”

Full details of shows and venues will follow in the next few weeks.