Established in 2009 in order to formalise a growing network of club gigs and launch the Machynlleth Comedy Festival, Little Wander has been
at the forefront of developing comedy in the UK for fifteen years.
Whilst initially known for live gigs and festivals the company has diversified in recent years into touring, TV and Radio production and podcasts all from their base in the heart of the Brecon Beacons. Little Wander is a proudly Welsh company that strives to influence comedy across the UK and beyond.
Launching the Machynlleth Comedy Festival in 2010 is probably what Little Wander is most known for, and the flagship event is still firmly at the heart of what the organisation delivers. But our work with festivals goes far beyond that. In 2018 the company launched a sister festival to Machynlleth in Aberystwyth, and we have been proudly curating and managing the comedy stage at the award-winning Green Man Festival since 2008.
The company has also worked with numerous other festivals to deliver aspects of the events, including Manchester International Festival, Hay Festival and the centenary celebrations of both Dylan Thomas and Roald Dahl.
Little Wander have produced numerous commissions for BBC Radio Wales and BBC Radio 4 in stand-up comedy, sketch and documentary. We’ve made sitcom pilots and two series of our award-winning topical panel show What Just Happened? In 2023 we launched Little Wander Radio, our festival radio station at the Machynlleth and Aberystwyth comedy festivals.
Little Wander have been making programmes for the BBC since 2018. Initially focusing on stand-up comedy with 3 different series in 2018, 2021 and 2022, the company moved into narrative comedy firstly through sketch and BBC3's Laugh Lessons commissions and then with a half hour broadcast pilot of Vandullz. Most recently the company delivered its first entertainment format through a broadcast pilot of the topical panel show What Just Happened? and a short film for BBC3, Pobl Bachyn.
Little Wander’s UK and international touring department continues to grow. We have been proud to tour James Acaster, Nish Kumar, Bridget Christie, Kiri Pritchard-McLean, Mike Wozniak, Jessica Fostekew and Jen Brister. Delivering UK tours for artists we love is something the company is incredibly proud and passionate about.
Little Wander started live as a single gig in a theatre bar in Brecon, and we’re proud to now run gigs right across Wales and the UK. Winning the contract to programme Brighton Komedia in 2022 has established Little Wander’s live gig department, and it continues to flourish in Wales and across the UK. If you’re a venue looking for a regular live comedy night we would love to talk to you.
We launched the Little Wander podcast network in 2020 as a way to keep working with artists at a time when our industry had lost its means of production. We proudly produce podcasts with Kiri Pritchard-McLean, Poppy Hillstead, Nina Conti and more. We make podcasts for BBC Sounds, Visit Wales, and Green Man Festival, all from our audio production base in north Wales.
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