Comic Campbeltown – slapstick to the fore

The highlight of a laugh-aminute slapstick weekend is sure to be a giant custard pie fight. Flinging flans is a staple of classic comedy films and is due to be staged by Campbeltown Picture House at 12.15pm on Saturday November 24. The Scottish Comedy Slapstick Weekend arrives on November 23, 24 and 25 and includes workshops and films from the earliest silent days of cinema up to Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The timetable of events is as follows:

Friday November 23

3.30pm – A free make-an-instrument workshop: Lolly stick kazoos, shakers, noisemakers and strummers. Make an instrument ready to play in the audience orchestra for Saturday afternoon’s Mabel Normand short film. 5.30pm – Comedy short: Dinner for One followed by Buster Keaton’s masterpiece The General, both films £5.

Saturday November 24

10am – Free workshop: The Sound of Funny: How does sound enhance the comedy experience? Create a soundtrack for a comedy film screening in the afternoon. 12.15pm – The Picture House custard pie fight billed as Splatastic fun! 1pm – The Marvellous Mabel Normand: The trailblazing first woman of silent film gets her long-overdue moment in the spotlight, tickets £5. 3.45pm – Bunkered 2.0: Scottish Comedy from the Archives with guest curator, Shona Thomson, tickets £5. 6pm – Monty Python and the Holy Grail clip-clopalong. The irreverent classic comedy returns to the big screen. Coconuts provided for audience clip-clopping participation. Tickets £5.

Sunday November 25

10am – A free Physical Comedy and Slapstick workshop. Perfect pratfalls and get an audience laughing with this slapstick workshop for all ages. 12.30pm – Another chance to see Dinner for One followed by The Marx Brothers for this knock-about anti-war, anti-nationalist satire Duck Soup. Tickets £5. These events are made possible by Comedy Genius, a celebration of comedy on screen, led by the British Film Institute (BFI), the Independent Cinema Office and BFI Film Audience Network, supported by funds from the National Lottery. For free events booking is essential. Book tickets for these events by emailing scoff@ campbeltownpicturehouse. co.uk or by calling in at the Picture House.