Glasgow International Comedy Festival reveal 2025 line-up

The festival—which has been running since 2002—will this year welcome the biggest names in Glasgow comedy, as well as UK and international giants and up-and-coming talent from across the city and beyond. 

The festival will run as part of Glasgow’s 850 celebrations this year, and events will take place at a variety of venues across the city like the King's Theatre, Oran Mor and The Stand. 

(Image: Colin Mearns Photograph by Colin Mearns, Newsquest) (Image: Krista, pictured by Colin Mearns, Newsquest) Krista MacDonald, festival director, said: “I am beyond excited for the festival this year – it is going to be the biggest and best yet.

“Glasgow is the funniest city in the world as far as I am concerned, and the strength and talent we have here and the talent we are lucky enough to have visited is phenomenal. 

“As much as we are delighted to have the big names, we are just as excited about the people coming who are just breaking through. 

“Us Glaswegians don’t like to shout about ourselves, but we are okay saying we are funny – which is fine with me because I think funny is just about the most important thing you can be.”

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Taking place from March 12 until March 30, this year’s line-up includes the likes of Susie McCabe, Ashley Storrie and Paul Black, as well as superstars like Josie Long. 

Susie McCabe will bring her Best Behaviour show to the King’s Theatre on Friday, March 28. 
The show follows Susie’s heart attack last July, which she says has pushed her to change her life at the age of 44 – or has it? 

(Image: Colin Mearns Photograph by Colin Mearns, Newsquest) She told the Glasgow Times: “I talk about my own perspective of the heart attack and thinking about my mortality for the first time in my life as well as how people view you and their own mortality after something like that.”

It comes after Susie won the Sir Billy Connolly Spirit of Glasgow Award last year. 

“It was genuinely one of the best moments of my life,” Susie said. 

She continued: “To get a video from Sir Billy Connolly and for him to say your name and that you blew him sideways and made him laugh out loud – you can’t even contemplate that would happen to you. 

“Billy is the godfather of modern-day stand-up. He is an incredibly funny man who never punched out – he never done the racism, the homophobia, the sexism – he is just funny and silly.”

(Image: Colin Mearns Photograph by Colin Mearns, Newsquest) Susie received the award from her late friend Janey Godley, who sadly passed away last year at the age of 63 following a long battle with ovarian cancer. 

Susie said: “We knew that we didn’t have long left with Janey, we didn’t have years and years ahead, so that was a special moment to receive the award from her.”

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Bafta award-winner Ashley Storrie, daughter of the late Janey Godley, will also be part of the festival this year as she is set to take place in the project, Gray Matters, alongside Alan Bissett and Christopher Macarthur-Boyd. 

The project - which will take place at Oran Mor on March 23 - aims to celebrate the life and work of Glasgow author, Alasdair Gray, in a fun and accessible way. 

Gray, who was famous for works like Poor Things and Lanark, died following a short illness on December 29, 2019, the day after his 85th birthday. 

(Image: Ashley Storrie. Photograph by Colin Mearns, Newsquest) Christopher will be doing some stand-up as part of the project, while Ashley will be putting together a digital media project. 

Speaking further on the work, Ashley said: “We want to celebrate Gray’s life and work in a way that is accessible and fun. 

“I don’t think he was as serious as people thought. I think he was funny and making jokes with genuine humour in his work, but nobody realised it. 

“One of my favourites is his self-portrait which looks like a bad da selfie. It’s one of my favourite things I the world.”

(Image: Photograph of Janey and Ashley from a 2018 Glasgow Times interview.) Ashley went on to say that she is looking forward to taking part in the festival, especially in homage to her mum who loved the event. 

She added: “I knew I was going to do stand-up this year, but I wanted to be part of the comedy festival because it was so important to my mum. 

“It was one of her favourite times of the year and it would have felt so weird to not be part of it.”

(Image: Photography by Colin Mearns, Newsquest)

GICF has also unveiled this year’s Comedy Connects, which will have a youth focus with programming and development geared to the next generation of performers and audiences.

The Comedy Connects strand uses any festival profits to fund initiatives and projects with the aim of making comedy more accessible to all. 

This also includes the return of GICF’s Introduction to Comedy course for women and marginalised genders with a six-week free workshop taught by acclaimed comedian Viv Gee at The Social Hub. 

To find out more about the festival, visit www.glasgowcomedyfestival.com.