Rosie Jones among acts in comedy festival line-up

Comedians Rosie Jones, Hal Cruttenden and Tom Rosenthal are among the performers taking part in a comedy festival this weekend.

The Northampton Comedy Festival will host 25 comedians across three venues in the town centre on Saturday and Sunday.

The festival began on 25 May and runs until 26 July.

Mike Chase, the director of the Comedy Crate which organised the festival, said the event had gained a reputation for having a positive atmosphere.

The Charles Bradlaugh, The Black Prince and The Lamplighter pubs will host shows on Saturday and The Charles Bradlaugh and The Black Prince will have Sunday events.

Mr Chase said part of the attraction of the festival for the acts was its timing, as it runs just before the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August.

"A lot of comedians are preparing for that, so the shows are a 'work-in-progress' but they are almost fully formed," he said.

Mr Chase also hoped the festival would bring more people into the town centre.

"There are a lot people trying to do things [in Northampton town centre] and we should support it," he added.

Cruttenden said he was looking forward to performing his show at the comedy festival, which he will then take to the Edinburgh Fringe before embarking on a UK tour.

He told BBC Radio Northampton's Bernie Keith: "It's such an exciting time as a comic when you are putting a new show together.

"It's all so new, you're not bored of it yet."

He said there was scope for some crowd interaction when he performs his show at The Charles Bradlaugh pub on Sunday.

"The person I pick on the most in my show is myself, but I do like to chat and get to know my audience," he said.

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