Comedy workshop w/ award-winning comic & qualified teacher Tom Short (Salford Uni Comedy Lecturer)

Saturday 9th & Sunday 10th January 202712:00pm – 6:00pm both daysThe Rink, Works Road, Pontardawe, SA8 4PS

🎄 Looking for a Christmas present that’s a bit different?

🎤 Got that special someone who’s always the life and soul of the party — and now just needs a bigger audience?

🚂 Or maybe it’s time for New Year, New Career and finally giving comedy a go yourself?

Beat the January blues and get funny with Comedy Train!

Join comedian and comedy tutor Tom Short for a two-day immersive comedy workshop designed to help you write sharper jokes, develop stronger ideas and characters, and create material that actually works in front of an audience.

Whether you’ve never performed before, have always secretly fancied trying stand-up, or you’re already writing and performing and want to take your comedy to the next level, this friendly, practical intensive meets you where you’re at.

Across two days, you’ll learn the tools and techniques behind creating original comedy, develop your own material, build confidence and discover what makes your comedy different.

Give someone comedy for Christmas. Give yourself a new challenge for the New Year. Or just give January something to look forward to.

🚂 All aboard the Comedy Train.

What You’ll Learn

Across the weekend you will:

Develop your comic voice and point of view

Learn how to structure sketches, scenes, and comedic beats

Create memorable characters with clear motivations and flaws

Use “game of the scene” to heighten ideas

Identify where a joke is (and how to fix it if it’s not landing)

Receive constructive, supportive feedback from peers and facilitators

Write, rewrite, test and polish material

You’ll also learn about how to find performance opportunities, build a writing portfolio, and start submitting comedy professionally.

This workshop is built to be welcoming, accessible and collaborative. Beginners are very welcome — and writers / performers looking to push their craft will also have plenty to chew on.

Workshop Schedule

Saturday 26th September

12:00 – 6:00pm

Exploring comic ideas, voice, structure & collaborative writing tasks.

Sunday 27th September

12:00 – 6:00pm

Developing sketches, character work, script editing, rewrites & sharing work.

There will be short breaks throughout and time in the pub after for those who’d like to continue informal discussion.

Venue

The Rink

Works Road,

Pontardawe,

Sa8 4PS

A friendly environment with a warm atmosphere and space for creativity.

Who’s Running the Workshop?

Comedy Train has run sold-out writing and performance workshops across the UK, working with new and developing comedians, writers, theatre makers and performers. The focus is on supportive learning, accessible methods, and giving people the tools to express their comedic ideas in clear, confident forms.

This workshop is presented in partnership with Sian Fisher to support and strengthen the local comedy community and help writers connect and grow.

Who Is It For?

✅ Writers

✅ Stand-ups

✅ Sketch performers

✅ Theatre makers

✅ Complete beginners with a sense of humour

✅ Anyone curious about comedy writing

No prior experience needed — just bring your ideas and an open mind.

What to Bring

Notebook / laptop / tablet

Your creativity

Optional: Existing ideas or work you’d like to develop

Description supplied by the event organiser.