THE Courtyard and Wye Valley Brewery have announced an exciting line up of comedy acts for the very first Wye Valley Brewery Barrel of Laughs Comedy Weekend.

The Comedy Weekend will be held from Friday 24 to Sunday 26 June at The Courtyard and will feature fantastic stand up comedians Rob Beckett and Seann Walsh.

Rob Beckett is back with a brand-new hour of funnies and he's taking on the big issues like Kit Kats and flatbread! The star of BBC1's Live at the Apollo, BBC2's Mock the Week & Channel 4's 8 out of 10 Cats will kick off the Comedy Weekend on Friday 24 June.

As well as making several television appearances on Channel 4's 8 out of 10 Cats and BBC1's Live at the Apollo, Rob has also won several awards since he began performing stand-up in 2009.

Seann Walsh makes an intentional return to Hereford following his accidental mix-up with Hertford Theatre last year. Charming and charismatic, natural motor-mouth Seann is the most frighteningly precocious talent to emerge from the UK comedy circuit in ages.

Also on the line up are the UK’s premier improvisation troupe, The Noise Next Door. Lightning fast and uniquely talented, the group will transform audience suggestions into fantastically funny scenes and songs in the blink of an eye with a perfect blend of ludicrous characters, witty one-liners, epic stories, and explosive physicality.

In recent years, The Noise Next Door have taken the comedy world by storm. Their totally original comedic talents have made them five time sell-out veterans of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and one of the country’s most sought after comedy club headliners. Taking audience suggestions, the cheeky and charming quintet, transform them into fantastically funny scenes and songs in the blink of an eye with a perfect blend of ludicrous characters, witty one-liners, epic stories, and explosive physicality.

Unstoppably funny and uniquely talented, The Noise Next Door are well on their way to becoming comedy’s next big thing.

The usual Heineken Comedy Club will take over the Studio on Friday evening with up and coming stand-up comics taking to the stage.

There will also be the opportunity for local comedians to perform at one of the Wye Valley Brewery Comedy Scratch Nights on Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 June. The two evenings will be hosted by James Ryan with each comedian delivering ten minutes of their best original material to see who will be crowned champion of Wye Valley Comedy Weekend scratch nights

Abbie Gadd, marketing manager at Wye Valley Brewery, said, “Here at Wye Valley Brewery, we like to think of ourselves as a sociable bunch… We love nothing more than getting together and having a laugh, over a beer or two, of course! This year’s Wye Valley Brewery’s Barrel of Laughs headline acts alone will have us non-stop belly-laughing and splitting our sides; so much so, that we’ll all be in stitches and definitely in need of a good tonic. Which is why local favourite - Butty Bach - will be joined on the bar by a bevy of beer-licious Wye Valley ales AND something very new and daringly different.

“We can hardly contain our excitement and look forward to sharing an all-new Wye Valley Brewery beverage with you in June!”

Wye Valley Brewery’s Barrel of Laughs Comedy Weekend takes place at The Courtyard from Friday, June 24 to Sunday, June 26. To book, or for more details, call the box office on 01432 340555 or visit courtyard.org.uk