York Comedy Festival: what you missed this summer

The York Comedy Festival has already come and gone for the year, so if you were hoping to catch it this weekend, you are out of luck. It took place on Sunday 12 July at York Museum Gardens, and it was a big one: Russell Howard headlined, with Ross Noble, Russell Kane, Joanne McNally, Suzi Ruffell, Jeff Innocent, Nabil Abdulrashid and Barry From Watford all on the bill, and Jarred Christmas hosting the whole thing. It ran from 3pm to 10.15pm, gates opening at 3pm and last entry at 8.15pm, and it was strictly 16+ because of the language and subject matter. The festival is part of the Live at York Museum Gardens series put on by Futuresound Group, and it is one of the biggest outdoor comedy events in the UK, so it is worth keeping an eye on for next year.

If you missed it, the line-up gives you a sense of what it was. Russell Howard is the name most people know, from Russell Howard's Good News and Mock The Week, and he is joined by Ross Noble, whose surreal stand-up has landed him on Have I Got News For You and BBC Radio 4's Just A Minute. Russell Kane has won Best Show at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards and is the first comedian to take both that and the Melbourne Comedy Festival's Barry Award in the same year. Joanne McNally is a huge name in Irish comedy, best known for her podcast My Therapist Ghosted Me, which she co-hosts with Vogue Williams. Suzi Ruffell is the voice behind the Big Kick Energy podcast, Jeff Innocent has gone from cult stand-up to viral sensation, and Nabil Abdulrashid has appeared on Britain's Got Talent and Live at The Apollo. Barry From Watford is the 82-year-old character Alex Lowe created, the same man behind Clinton Baptiste. Jarred Christmas, a New Zealand comic who has lived in the UK since 2003, tied it all together as MC, and he took home Chortle's Best Compère award in 2010.

For anyone who wants to plan ahead for the next edition, it is worth knowing how the tickets work. There was a York-exclusive postcode presale for YO1, YO10, YO19, YO23, YO24, YO26, YO30, YO31 and YO32, followed by general sale, and three tiers of ticket: Premium Admission, which came with a seat in the front block closest to the stage, a dedicated entry lane, a premium hang-out area with its own bar and food, premium toilets and a chair; General Admission, a seated ticket with a chair in the general seating area; and Standing Terrace, a standing area on the raised ground in front of the museum with a tiered platform, where camping chairs, rugs, stools and other furniture were not allowed. There was no readmission once you were in.

And if you are still craving comedy, there is a silver lining: Russell Howard is coming back to York later this autumn. His tour, Russell Howard Don't Tell The Algorithm, stops at the Barbican on Saturday 31 October, with an extra date on Sunday 1 November, so that is the next chance to catch him in the city.