• Andy Smart
• Steve Steen
• Stephen Frost
• Jeff Green
• Dave Johns
• Mundo Jazz
• Terry Saunders
• Barry Dodds
• Ben Schofield
• Damion Larkin

In association with eFestivals.co.uk

This year we welcome our very own Comedy Curator in the form of Andy Smart. On Friday and Saturday night Andy will be bringing his pals from the Comedy Store to do "Whose line is it anyway"-style impro shows in the Big Top. Joining him on stage will be Steve Steen, Stephen Frost and Josie Lawrence.

We will also be having our late night Stand up sessions in the Wickwar Tent. There will be superb headliner slots from Dave Johns on Friday, Jeff Green on Saturday and  Boothby Graffoe on Sunday with excellent supporting acts from our friends at The Ribbed Comedy Club Barry Dodds, Ben Schofield, Damion Larkin, Terry Saunders and Wychwood favourite Mundo Jazz.

We hope to make you laugh and laugh and laugh at Wychwood 2008! Scroll down to read more about these brilliant acts and watch this space for more to come.

Andy Smart has been in comedy for more years than he cares to remember. Andy's long and illustrious comic career began in 1983 when he met Angelo Abela and formed the Vicious Boys, who then went on to win the Time Out Street Entertainer of the Year award. Since then Andy has performed in numerous live shows around the globe,as well as in many films and television appearances. Andy has played with The Comedy Store Players for more than 15 years, and has performed at 29 consecutive Edinburgh Festivals, as well as comparing the comedy tent at Glastonbury since 1985.

Andy says, "You can't beat laughing outdoors, well, in a tent. There is something very special about comedy at a festival. I am really looking forward to booking some of my favourite comics,some you might know, some you might not. But I guarantee some long, loud,laughter in the sun! (Unless it rains!)"

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Steve Steen began his career at the Oval House Theatre Club in 1972 with his lifelong friend and working partner Jim Sweeney.

An illustrious comedy and acting career then followed including co-present the acclaimed children's show CBTV for Thames TV from 1981-1984, the C4 Series Little Armadillos.

Rory Bremner grabbed him by the adenoids for his debut series on BBC 2 and three years of mimicry followed coupled with three successive and successful stage shows. 

Throw into that melting pot 'The Kenny Everett Show', 'Carrott Confidential', Saturday Night Live', 'Russell Harty's Christmas Party', 'Wogan', 'Blackadder the Third', 'A Bit of Fry and Laurie', 'Red Dwarf', 'The Staggering Stories of Ferdinand de Bargos', 'Spitting Image', 'Clive Anderson Talks Back', 'Have I Got News For You', 'Whose Line Is It Anyway', 'The Bill', 'The Lenny Henry Show', 'The Rory Bremner Show', 'The Good Sex Guide', 'Crapston Villas', 'Jo Brand Through the Cakehole', 'The Paul Merton Show', etc, etc, blah blah blah...You name it he's done it!

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We also welcome Stephen Frost to Wychwood this year.

Stephen is yet another fabulous comedian with a long illustrious career. He worked with Mark Arden as part of the double act The Oblivion Boys on Saturday Live. Veterans of the alternative comedy scene, he and Arden appeared regularly in The Young Ones, and later had their own TV series Lazarus and Dingwall on BBC2. The duo appeared in a series of British TV advertisements ending with the catchphrase "I bet he drinks Carling Black Label". One spoofed the "launderette" commercial for Levi in which Nick Kamen stripped to his underwear; in their pastiche!

Stephen has also appeared many times on Radio 4's Just a Minute, and the improvisation show Whose Line Is It Anyway, as well as Have I Got News For You, Never Mind The Buzzcocks, Blackadder, Mr Bean. And is resident compere at the East Dulwich Comedy Club and a regular on the London comedy circuit. He is also a veteran of the Edinburgh Fringe.

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Award winning comedian Jeff Green has established himself as one of the most popular comics working in the UK today. Jeff's razor-sharp observations combined with an abundant natural charm have marked him out as one of the brightest talents on the British comedy scene. Perrier Nominee and Edinburgh favourite, Jeff has also been a team captain on Jo Brands Hot Potatoes, as well as being a successful author, with books like the Sunday Times number  5 best seller, 'The A-Z of living Together'. Most recently you may have heard him on 'The Green Guide to Life' on Radio 2 or seen him on BBC1's Celebrity Masterchef, They Think it's All over or on Never Mind the Buzcocks!

Jeff will be headlining the Wickwar Stage on Friday.

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Winner of the prestigious Spirit of the Fringe Award in 1998, Geordie stand-up, Dave Johns is a comedian of the highest calibre. An expert in the delivery of in-yer-face comedy, Dave's high-energy routine has left audiences around the globe gasping for breath and crying with laughter. Dave has gained a reputation as an inventive, exciting and extremely funny comedian winning applause from his audiences, respect from his fellow comics, and rave reviews from the critics "he has a uncontrived manner and sense of fun on stage that most comics can only dream about" (The Scotsman).

Edinburgh Fringe veteran Dave has also toured with Johnny Vegas and for the last eight years Dave has hosted the Gala Show for the Newcastle Comedy Festival at the City Hall. He is also a regular Performer at the Comedy store London.

Dave will be headling the Wickwar Stage on Sunday.

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Wychwood favourite Mundo Jazz will be returning as part of The Ribbed Comedy programming on Saturday.

Mundo Jazz is described by the Daily Express as a sort of live, Latino Spinal Tap, and returning to Wychwood by popular demand, Mundo is one of Panama's national treasures, and a unique voice in Afro-Latin Rock. He was born in Panama City, Panama, and stole his first guitar at the age of six. By his teens he was a regular performer at the local brothels, and at fifteen he joined the conjuncto (dance ensemble) of the legendary blind triangle player Julio Jimenez.

The single biggest influence in my life, and a political inspiration to millions - Gruff Rhys, Super Furry Animals.

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With three successful Edinburgh shows under his belt, 2005's Romantic Comedy, 2006's Pulp Boy and Missed Connections in 2007 Terry Saunders is becoming known for his storytelling skills across the comedy circuit.

"Immediately beguiles" The List
"First class storyteller and raconteur" Time Out
"A fulfilling, grown up piece of comedic artistry" Chortle
"Unapologetic melancholic whimsy" The Scotsman
"It's jackanory with jokes" Fest
"Effortlessly funny... What could be fey or indulgent in someone else's hands is poignant and funny in his." Metro

Also featured in BBC radios 28 Acts in 28 minutes, Indie cops on Resonance FM with Tom Bell and his own F1 podcast cleverly called "Another F1podcast" with Kevin Shepherd.

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Barry Dodds has forged an enviable reputation for himself over the past few years, charming audiences nationwide, with his uniquely tailored combination of disarming Geordie wit and wry, down-to-earth observational humour.

A finalist in both the Jimmy Carr Comedy Idol competition, and Jongleurs Last Laugh Comedy search, and a semi-finalist in the BBC New talent Awards 2005 - Barry has taken the national circuit by storm, with his mix of surprisingly dark and irrepressibly cheeky material.

Fascinated by stand-up from an early age, Barry took to the stage at the tender age of 21, and is now a firm audience favourite at clubs such as The Stand, The Frog and Bucket, Opus, XS Malarkey and many more. With material covering everything from failed culture bids to an obsession with ghosthunting. In 2006 Barry jetted off to Luxembourg where he performed a solo show - and became the first ever comedian to perform on Luxembourg TV.

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Ben Schofield first performed as a comedian in 2001. Hailing from Bradford, he was, from an early age, to foster a keen sense of humour as a simple defence mechanism. His predilection for mirth-making thrives to this day, which, considering he still lives in Bradford, is just as well.

Ever since his first tentative steps into comedy before a home crowd in Bradford he has performed to audience and critical acclaim in venues across the north of England. A dyed-in-the-wool rocker, he has imbued his performances with his rock and roll spirit, producing a dynamic, colourful (and really quite loud) act that is guaranteed to entertain.

In 2002 he reached the televised semi-final of the BBC New Comedy Awards, only for his progress to be hampered by the London audience inexplicably taking objection to having a hairy Northerner shouting at them. Undeterred, he continued to preach his gospel to all who would listen, building a deserved reputation as an exciting and engaging comic performer, whilst vowing never to enter a competition again. Such was the piety with which he upheld this vow that in 2004 he reached the regional finals of the J2O/Jongleurs competition.

A scatologically cerebral comic thinker with a keen eye for the absurd, he boastfully maintains the unique record of being the only comedian in the world (to his knowledge) to have written a joke about galvanising dustbins. This surely stands as a testament to his ability to mine comedy gold from even the most unlikely of seams.

With countless performances in top northern venues, residencies at several established and respected comedy nights (including the Hyena Lounge at The Original Oak, Headingley and the Saturday Session at The HiFi Club, Leeds) and several television appearances (including Stand Up Britain for ITV) already under the considerable girth of his belt, he is all set to ignite a comedy venue near you soon. Come and join him for the ride.

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Comedy genius is an over used term and Damion Larkin is not a comedy genius. However, he really is very good indeed. Excellent as an opener or support act, he is also growing in reputation as a crowd-rousing compere. Few new acts can match his natural stage confidence backed with a combination of acutely written one liners and cutting observations. At home with audiences of all size, this comic instinctively knows how to play a room. Should the mood call for it, he will improvise his entire set, often to hilarious effect.

This former stockbroker quit his lucrative professional in August 2004, to live the dream and has never looked back. He is now destitute, relying on state handouts and begging.

Compering for the first time at The Brickwall in Liverpool in January 2005, Damion was a roaring success. He was instantly offered the club's first resident MC spot.

There are no genuine comparisons to this man. He is evolving into a versatile and creative comedian who always leaves audiences wanting more.

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