Wales keeps its stand-up close: a club on Cardiff Bay that holds 450, a purpose-built comedy club on Swansea's Strand that grew out of a podcast, a first-Friday night at Tŷ Pawb in Wrexham, and comedy clubs in the studios of arts centres in Aberystwyth and Bangor. The Glee Club Cardiff marks its 25th anniversary with two weekend shows at the end of October 2026, and on the May Day weekend the market town of Machynlleth holds a comedy festival that has grown from 30 shows to more than 200.
The short answer
D.O.C. lists 9 comedy rooms and nights in Wales, in 6 cities — Cardiff (3), Swansea (2), Aberystwyth, Bangor, Wrexham and Mold — each with a dated show on its own listings when read on 4 October 2026. Below: each room's nights, its open mic and how comics get on, tickets and the age rule; the comedy on the road; the festivals.
Part of D.O.C.'s International section: the rooms, the nights and the festivals in Wales, each from its own website, with the comedy in Welsh and in both languages that the venues list.
Stand-up comedy in Cardiff
Cardiff's stand-up runs from Mermaid Quay and the Wales Millennium Centre on Cardiff Bay to the New Theatre on Park Place.
ShowsIts own comedy shows every Friday and Saturday night, four stand-up comedians a night, and touring headliners on other nights, in a room that holds 450. source ↗
ListedFriday Night Comedy, with Kate Martin, Craig Hill, Alistair Barrie and Sammy Dobson — Friday 9 October 2026, on its own listings when read on 4 October 2026 source ↗
Open micNot advertised on its site
Getting bookedIts site publishes no submission route; ask the club in person.
Tickets£21.50 for Friday Night Comedy (£13 concession) and £25 for Saturday Night Comedy, plus a £2 booking fee; seats allocated, food served, doors at 6.45pm. source ↗
Age18 and over for Friday and Saturday Night Comedy; All In Comedy is 16 and over. source ↗
AlsoAll In Comedy every fortnight, hosted by Robin Morgan with three stand-up comedians, from £8; and the club's 25th-anniversary weekend on Friday 30 and Saturday 31 October 2026, with Kiri Pritchard-McLean on the Friday bill and Mike Bubbins on the Saturday. source ↗
Wales Millennium Centre, Bute Place, Cardiff CF10 5AL
ShowsThe centre's Cabaret stage of drag, comedy, burlesque and live bands, with stand-up through the autumn: Gagged! A Queer Comedy Night with Little Wander on 25 October and Harriet Kemsley on 29 October 2026. source ↗
ListedLittle Wander Comedy Club, hosted by Paul Hilleard — Thursday 26 November 2026, 8pm, on its own listings when read on 4 October 2026 source ↗
Open micNot advertised on its site
Getting bookedIts site publishes no submission route; ask the venue in person.
TicketsUnreserved seating at tables, with drinks brought to the table; £3 off for disabled visitors, students, under-30s and the unwaged, and for groups of 10 or more; doors an hour before the show. source ↗
Age18 and over for the Little Wander Comedy Club. source ↗
AlsoThe November club's MC, Paul Hilleard, is billed as BBC New Comedian of the Year 2024, with Sikisa on the bill. source ↗
ShowsTouring stand-up among the theatre and musicals on its listings: Chris Ramsey on 16 October and Adam Rowe on 18 October 2026. source ↗
ListedLenny Henry: Still At Large — part stand-up, part storytelling — Tuesday 13 October 2026, 7.30pm, on its own listings when read on 4 October 2026 source ↗
Open micNot advertised on its site
Getting bookedIts site publishes no submission route; ask the venue in person.
ShowsSwansea's home of live stand-up, in its own words, and the second purpose-built comedy club in Wales: acts from across the UK, with the audience sitting close to the stage. source ↗
ListedFriday Night Comedy — Friday 9 October 2026, 7.30pm, on its own listings when read on 4 October 2026 source ↗
Open micNot advertised on its site
Getting bookedIts site publishes no submission route; ask the club in person.
Tickets£18 plus a 45p service fee for Friday Night Comedy; doors at 6pm. source ↗
ShowsA 3,500-capacity indoor arena, opened in March 2022, for music, comedy and theatre; comedy on its October 2026 listings includes Harry Enfield and No Chums on 12 October. source ↗
ListedRussell Howard: Don't Tell The Algorithm — Saturday 17 October 2026, 7.30pm, on its own listings when read on 4 October 2026 source ↗
Open micNot advertised on its site
Getting bookedIts site publishes no submission route; ask the club in person.
Age14 and over for Russell Howard; under-16s sit with an adult. source ↗
AlsoRussell Howard plays three shows: Saturday 17 October at 3.30pm and 7.30pm, and Sunday 18 October 2026 at 7.30pm, two hours with an interval. source ↗
In Aberystwyth, the Arts Centre on the university's Penglais Campus runs a comedy club night in its Studio and is home to the Aberystwyth Comedy Festival on the first weekend in October.
ShowsComedy among its theatre, dance, music and film, with touring stand-up on its October 2026 listings: Al Murray on 24 October and Dylan Moran on 29 October. source ↗
ListedClwb Comedi | Comedy Club, with MC Louise Young, Terry Mynott and Paul F Taylor — Wednesday 28 October 2026, 8pm, on its own listings when read on 4 October 2026 source ↗
Open micNot advertised on its site
Getting bookedIts site publishes no submission route; ask the venue in person.
AlsoHome of the Aberystwyth Comedy Festival with Little Wander, from 2 to 4 October 2026, whose line-up ran from Kiri Pritchard-McLean's work in progress to Mike Wozniak's The Bench, with a bilingual show, Comedy Translates | Comedi'n Cyfeithu. source ↗
ShowsBangor University's arts centre, with comedy among its film, music, drama and cabaret: a Studio theatre for up to 120 and Theatr Bryn Terfel, which seats 450. source ↗
ListedDylan Moran: Looking For Trouble, in Theatr Bryn Terfel — Friday 30 October 2026, 8pm, on its own listings when read on 4 October 2026 source ↗
Open micNot advertised on its site
Getting bookedIts site publishes no submission route; ask the venue in person.
ShowsThe first Friday of each month: touring comedians from around the UK, hosted by Wrexham-born comic Kevin Caswell-Jones, a writer for Viz also known as Funny Bones Jones. source ↗
ListedTŷ Pawb Comedy Night — Friday 6 November 2026, 8pm, on its own listings when read on 4 October 2026 source ↗
Open micNot advertised on its site
Getting bookedIts site publishes no submission route; ask the promoter in person.
Tickets£12, through Eventbrite; doors at 7.30pm, first act at 8pm. source ↗
Little Wander, which calls itself Wales' leading comedy production company, started with a single gig in a theatre bar in Brecon and now runs comedy clubs at the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff, Aberystwyth Arts Centre and Pontio in Bangor, alongside the Machynlleth and Aberystwyth festivals. Its nights ahead in Wales, from its own listings and its venues': source ↗
Thursday 15 October 2026 — Robert White, Cabaret Bar, Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff
Sunday 25 October 2026 — Gagged! A Queer Comedy Night, Cabaret, Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff
Thursday 26 November 2026 — Little Wander Comedy Club, Cabaret, Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff
Thursday 17 December 2026 — Little Wander Christmas Comedy Club, Pontio, Bangor
These nights have gone by; its own site has what is next.
Little Wander's flagship festival in the mid-Wales market town, launched in 2010 as a relaxed space for comedians to try new work in front of warm, receptive audiences. It has grown from 30 shows in 4 venues to more than 200 comedy, theatre and family shows from Friday to Sunday of the May Day Bank Holiday weekend, in 20 venues seating 30 to 500, with over 20,000 tickets sold. source ↗
Machynlleth's sister festival, launched by Little Wander in 2018 and held on the first weekend in October: more focused on finished shows, across the town's pubs, clubs and restaurants. source ↗
For comics: getting on stage in Wales
The routes to the stage the rooms and festivals publish themselves.
Little Wander, which runs comedy clubs in Cardiff, Aberystwyth and Bangor, takes acts through its Gigs Availability form; its clubs are pro gigs, so comics need a solid 20 minutes. source ↗
A development programme from Little Wander, Channel 4 and S4C for emerging Welsh and Wales-based talent in comedy and TV; this year's artists include the bilingual comedians Josh Pennar and Katie Gill and Pembrokeshire's Steffan Evans. source ↗
A £5 new material night at the Problematic Pub Comedy Club, show at 7.30pm, with Simon Emanuel and a mystery line-up; its October 2026 night had sold out when read. source ↗
Created as a relaxed space for comedians to try new work in front of warm, receptive audiences, on the May Day Bank Holiday weekend in mid-Wales. source ↗
Each room's line above says whether it runs an open mic and how it books. At home in the United States,
Stage Time has open mics by night and the Gig Board has calls for comics.
Questions about stand-up comedy in Wales
Where can I see stand-up comedy in Wales?
In Cardiff, The Glee Club Cardiff, Wales Millennium Centre Cabaret and New Theatre Cardiff; in Swansea, Problematic Pub and Swansea Arena; in Aberystwyth, Aberystwyth Arts Centre; in Bangor, Pontio; in Wrexham, Tŷ Pawb; in Mold, Theatr Clwyd. Each had a dated show on its own listings when read on 4 October 2026; its line above has the address, the nights and the age rule.
Are comedy clubs in Wales 18 and over?
3 of the 9 rooms listed here say 18 and over for their evening comedy, but the rule is each room's own: The Glee Club Cardiff: 18 and over for Friday and Saturday Night Comedy; All In Comedy is 16 and over; Wales Millennium Centre Cabaret: 18 and over for the Little Wander Comedy Club; New Theatre Cardiff: 16 and over for Lenny Henry; Problematic Pub: 18 and over; Swansea Arena: 14 and over for Russell Howard; under-16s sit with an adult; Aberystwyth Arts Centre: 16 and over for the Comedy Club; Pontio: 16 and over for Dylan Moran; Tŷ Pawb: 16 and over.
How do new comedians get on stage in Wales?
Little Wander: gigs availability — Little Wander, which runs comedy clubs in Cardiff, Aberystwyth and Bangor, takes acts through its Gigs Availability form; its clubs are pro gigs, so comics need a solid 20 minutes. Comedy Lab Cymru — A development programme from Little Wander, Channel 4 and S4C for emerging Welsh and Wales-based talent in comedy and TV; this year's artists include the bilingual comedians Josh Pennar and Katie Gill and Pembrokeshire's Steffan Evans. Bare Bones at the Problematic Pub, Swansea — A £5 new material night at the Problematic Pub Comedy Club, show at 7.30pm, with Simon Emanuel and a mystery line-up; its October 2026 night had sold out when read. Machynlleth Comedy Festival — Created as a relaxed space for comedians to try new work in front of warm, receptive audiences, on the May Day Bank Holiday weekend in mid-Wales.
Sources
Each fact on this page is from the room's, festival's or award's own website, read on 4 October 2026; the
comedians' lines are from their SUCDb records, which carry their own sources. 11 sites, 38 pages:
