Southport Comedy Festival paid partnership
Festival-goers will be able to see one of the UK’s rising comedy stars when Laura Smyth brings her Born Aggy tour to Southport Comedy Festival in association with Halliwell Jones Kia Southport this autumn.
Laura is bringing her “very relatable and brutally honest” act to Victoria Park in Southport on Thursday 15th October 2026.
What if all your dreams come true and you’ve still got the hump? Laura has spent the last few years selling out shows up and down the country; she has supported Jack Whitehall, Michelle de Swarte, Alan Davies, and Jason Manford and appeared on multiple panel shows including QI, Would I Lie To You, 8 out of 10 Cats Does Countdown and Live at The Apollo. She’s even beaten cancer; she’s done all the alternative healing you could shake a stick at – and she still thinks everyone’s a d**khead. It can’t just be her, can it?
Like her last tour, Laura will cover all of her everyday ever-changing life with truth, warmth, and hilarity. Maybe she needs more sleep or maybe she was just born aggy.
Laura said: “I can’t wait to bring my Born Aggy tour to Southport!
“It’s the first time I’ve performed at Southport Comedy Festival, and I’m really excited to be there.
“I have gigged in the North West, including at venues in Liverpool and Warrington. Everyone in the audience is so funny – you have to bring your ‘A game’ to these gigs!
“People coming can expect a night of very relatable and brutally honest comedy about life with lots of belly laughs!
“The name came from a show I was doing when I was talking about life giving you the hump, and being aggy – a women in the second row said I was ‘born aggy’ which I thought was brilliant!
“I thought it was a great name for a show and a tour, and here we are.”
Laura’s honest and hilarious take on life has earned her a fast-growing following, both on the live comedy circuit and on national television.
She said: “My first tour, Living My Best Life, went huge! It started off with 20 dates, and then quickly grew to 50 venues around the UK.
“It just kept getting bigger and bigger! It blew my mind.
“The biggest show I did was supporting Jack Whitehall, which was an amazing experience.
“Things are going well on this tour too. I am looking forward to performing at new venues, including at Southport Comedy Festival in October, and I am playing The Apollo in November.
“Things are going very well. But when you’re ‘born aggy’ you never change – the same things that have always annoyed you still make you very aggy!”
Laura Smyth is a working-class comedian, actor and writer from East London.
A mother of three, she entered the comedy world after a decade-long career as an English teacher.
Her distinctive style blends blunt honesty with warmth, capturing the truth of everyday life in a way that’s both hilarious and deeply relatable.
Laura’s debut stand-up show Living My Best Life toured nationwide in 2024. Originally planned for 29 dates, the tour was extended to 48 due to phenomenal demand, concluding with a third and final London show at theIndigo at The O2.
On screen, Laura featured in all six episodes of Outsiders Series 3 (Dave), teaming up with Chris McCausland to compete against Judi Love & Guz Khan and Roisin Conaty & Alan Davies in David Mitchell’s hit series.
She has hosted the London heat of the BBC New Comedy Awards for the past two years and has appeared on numerous television shows including Live at the Apollo (BBC), Cats Does Countdown (Channel 4), Frankie Boyle’s New World Order (BBC), The Jonathan Ross Show (ITV), QI (BBC), Would I Lie to You? (BBC), Richard Osman’s House of Games (BBC), The Weakest Link (BBC), Saturday Kitchen (BBC), Between the Covers (BBC), As Yet Untitled (Dave), and Yesterday, Today and the Day Before (Comedy Central). Her BBC Radio 4 comedy special I Don’t Know What to Say, which she wrote and performed, won the Gold Comedy Award at the 2024 ARIAS – the UK audio industry’s top honour – beating out nominees including Kathy Burke, Frank Skinner and The Skewer.
It was also shortlisted for Best Stand-Up Show at the BBC Audio Drama Awards. Laura also co-
hosted Bang On It for BBC Sounds, which won Bronze at the British Podcast Awards.
Her comedy-entertainment series Your Mum (BBC Radio 4, 6×30), featuring guests including Jo Brand, Kiri Pritchard-McLean, Arlene Phillips and Iain Stirling, aired in June and was quickly recommissioned for a second series. Laura’s latest venture is her new podcast Shouldn’t Laugh But, co-hosted with her best friend Carmen Butcher. Each week, they dive into the daft, awkward, and morally questionable things that happen in everyday life, letting their intrusive thoughts run wild. The show was named Podcast Pick of the Week by The Guardian and Radio Times and debuted in the top 30 of the UK comedy podcast charts. Audiences can listen on Global Player and all major podcast platforms now.
Most recently Laura was announced as a contestant on the upcoming series of The Celebrity Apprentice.
Laura joins an outstanding line-up for the 2026 Southport Comedy Festival in association with Halliwell Jones Kia Southport including Jason Manford, Jason Byrne, Paul Merton and Suki Webster, Clinton Baptiste, Henning Wehn, Gary Delaney, Paul Sinha, Mick Miller, Jimeoin, Mike Wozniak, Scott Bennett, Seann Walsh, Adam Kay, and more.
The 15th annual Southport Comedy Festival in association with Halliwell Jones Kia Southport runs from 2–18 October 2026, returning for the sixth consecutive year to its luxury, fully seated and heated Elite Events marquee in the picturesque surroundings of Victoria Park, home of the world-famous Southport Flower Show.
Laura Smyth: Born Aggy
Date of show: Thursday 15th October 2026
Tickets: £22.50 +BF
Doors 7pm
Show 8pm
Age suitability: 14+PG
Visit southportcomedyfestival.com for full line up, information and direct links to book tickets.
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