Buster Keaton's The General

Silent Comedy Gala hosted by Stephen Fry with special guest Billy Bragg and Sing Out Bristol Choir. Live music from the internationally acclaimed European Silent Screen Virtuosi. An unforgettable evening of laughter, live music and cinematic spectacle awaits at Bristol's much-loved Silent Comedy Gala, the flagship event of the 23rd Slapstick Festival. Hosting the evening is the incomparable Stephen Fry, whose wit, warmth and love of comedy make him the perfect guide to an evening celebrating cinema's greatest comic pioneers. This year's landmark Gala is headlined by Buster Keaton's iconic masterpiece The General (1926). Consistently ranked among the greatest films ever made, this breathtaking locomotive adventure remains as exhilarating, inventive and funny today as it was a century ago. Experience these fabulous films on a giant cinema screen, surrounded by an audience sharing the laughter, with spectacular live musical accompaniment. Performing live alongside the screen are the acclaimed European Silent Screen Virtuosi, led by internationally renowned silent-film musicians Maestro Günter A. Buchwald and Frank Bockius, bringing their extraordinary talents to Keaton's daring stunts and perfectly timed comedy. Special guest Billy Bragg will perform songs with the Sing Out Bristol Choir celebrating the rich tradition of American railway songs. Evoking the journeys, working lives and stories woven into railway history, the performance offers a fitting musical connection to the steam-powered world of The General. The evening also features two classic comedy shorts. Charlie Chaplin's The Adventurer (1917) finds cinema's greatest underdog in full flight, turning escape, romance and authority upside down with breathtaking comic invention. Meanwhile, Laurel & Hardy's With Love and Hisses (1927) delivers military mayhem and comic confusion from comedy's most beloved double act. Adding to the atmosphere, Richie Paradise's Big R Band will be performing in the foyer from 6.30pm. If you've never experienced silent film with live music, you're in for a treat. Funny, thrilling, moving and suitable for all ages, the Slapstick Silent Comedy Gala remains one of the highlights of Bristol's cultural calendar and one of the most magical ways to experience classic cinema on the big screen. All guest appearances are subject to availability. The programme may be subject to change.