The Best of Books, the Blurst of Books! at Exeter Comedy Festival
Schedule
Sat Jun 06 2026 at 08:00 pm to 09:30 pm
UTC+01:00Location
Exeter Library | Exeter, EN
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Four comedians walk into a library. Each one has opinions about books — strong ones. By the end of the night, the audience gets to decide: what is the Best Book of All Time? And what is the absolute Blurst?*The winner gets paraded through the streets on a satin cushion and ceremonially dog-eared by the Mayor of Exeter. The loser? Banished from the library forever. (Not really. We need all the books we can get.)
*"Blurst" is a very old and probably overly obscure Simpsons reference. If you don't get it, look it up… you stupid monkeys.
Robin Ince is a multi-award-winning comedian, author, broadcaster, and self-confessed bibliomaniac. He co-created and co-hosted BBC Radio 4's The Infinite Monkey Cage with Professor Brian Cox, has toured the world as a stand-up, and written four acclaimed books — including Bibliomaniac, a love letter to books and the places that sell them.
Josie Long was the first woman nominated three times for the Edinburgh Comedy Award. She's performed to sell-out audiences worldwide and appeared on The News Quiz, Just A Minute, Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Skins, 8 Out of 10 Cats, and Drunk History. In 2023 she published her debut book, Because I Don't Know What You Mean and What You Don't, a collection of short stories.
Kev Mud brings his experiences as a homeless ex-addict to a performance that Chortle called "one to watch" and Funhouse Comedy's Spiky Mike described as "one of the best new acts in the last 20 years." Honest, charming, and funny, the Cornwall-based comic has shared stages with Frankie Boyle, Sara Pascoe, and Shaparak Khorsandi — all within his first three years on the circuit.
Joanna Neary is a Cornwall-based writer, actor, and comedian who writes for Aquila Magazine and has a well-documented fondness for gurning and star jumping on stage, screen, and — less visually impactful — on the radio. She recently appeared in How Are You? It's Alan (Partridge), playing a struggling alcoholic book group member who gets farted at. Utterly brilliant.
Hosted by Edward Tripp — award-winning, surreal stand-up poet, prop-heavy, provocative, and not quite like anyone else you've seen on a stage — and Chris White, performer, poet, Events Guy at Exeter Central Library, founder of Spork! Poetry, multiple slam winner, and the first Riddler in Residence at Exeter Cathedral. He writes about love, ducks, and other wet things.
Please note: this is an Exeter Comedy Festival event. Tickets are available exclusively through the Exeter Corn Exchange Box Office and cannot be booked directly through the library.
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Where is it happening?
Exeter Library, Jessops, 82 Fore Street, Exeter, EX4 3HR, United KingdomEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
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