SKETCHFEST at Canal Café Theatre and Hen and Chickens Theatre 16 - 29 MARCH 2026

‘Opening night reminds us exactly how much we love sketch comedy’ ★★★★★

Opening night at The Hen and Chickens Theatre in Islington, saw stellar performances from established sketch show artists from both venues. It was a taste of what is possible with hard work and more than a touch of genius. 

The brand new SKETCHFEST is the brainchild of two Artistic Directors, Emma Taylor at Canal Café Theatre and James Wren at The Hen and Chickens Theatre. Both mourning the loss of the Sketch show whilst looking into the bottom of their beer glasses, they had a bolt of inspiration, instead of thinking of it as a dying art, why not kick start it for 2026.  The result, is a competition with each act performing their set at both venues. At the end of the festival, three chosen finalists will each perform 20 minutes of sketches in front of a guest judge. 

Emma and James were delighted with the overwhelming response from theatre companies, and so the future looks very promising indeed. Coming back to the opening night which was presented by the two of them along with Festival producer Cicely Wellstead, they had us laughing even before the first act appeared. 

It was an absolute treat to see these engaging and uplifting top quality sketches. Starting with Canal Café’s very own Jonny Brace and the team from NEWSREVUE. Jonny is an old hand at NewsRevue as both performer and Musical Director but on this occasion, he presented a guitar themed sketch of his own, beautifully warming up the audience for what was to follow.

NewsRevue which runs three nights a week at the Maida Vale venue, astonished everyone with their tipple threat skills under the Musical direction of Emily Huxter. Not only are they superb singers, but the political sketches are very amusing. Georgia Harris proves herself to be extraordinarily talented, not only possessing exquisite vocals, she’s also a writer - she has contributed to NewsRevue – and she’s also a director.  Michael Stafford-Wells and Olly Adams gave an extremely precise sketch of Putin amusingly rambling on whilst Zelensky performed an energetic comedy dance routine.  Finally in this section, Kathryn Pridgeon and Kitty McNeil presented a feminist sketch, with a killer punchline.

Following this, it was the turn of The Hen and Chickens Theatre. It presented the return of THE PROS FROM DOVER, ‘now back together, more exciting than Oasis’. Simply hilarious, and still relevant. Richard Glover was Jesus, now sporting a paunch ‘the food is delicious up there’, he’s a ‘bit disappointed with the meek’.  Hugely irreverent, he draws the audience in and pokes fun at bizarre sexual practices, ‘we can see everything that you’re up to’.  

The other pair who make up the threesome, are Phil Whelans and Neil Cole who gave us a cleverly constructed and brilliant sketch about the Hadron Collider.  Playing with time, science fiction and comic delivery superbly.  Also from this trio, a sketch of football supporters (they all had a shouted opinion … of how to put on makeup) and a German driving test – probably my favourite sketch of the evening.

The after party was also much fun, an opportunity to talk to some of the upcoming acts who are taking part in the festival. Four young female graduates form ‘SYNCING’, a parody of NSYNC, focusing on the band's struggles after the departure of Justin Timberlake.  FORCED RHUBARD are a more experienced troupe, who have already had a five star review for their comedy: ‘Mind-blowingly brilliant… the talent displayed by this group is out of this world’.  BISCUIT BARREL promises to entertain you with 69 biscuit related sketches in one hour. Not possible? There’s only one way to find out.

There’s plenty more to see as the festival which runs until 29 March so you can join in the fun. But will you pick the winner?

The full line up and the box office can be found on the relevant websites here:

SKETCHFEST at THE HEN AND CHICKENS THEATRE in Islington

https://www.unrestrictedview.co.uk/

SKETCHFEST at CANAL CAFÉ THEATRE in Little Venice

https://canalcafetheatre.com/our-shows/

Photography by CaiMG Photography

Top of page: The Pros From Dover

Above: NewsRevue