festival news
We are Excited to announce EMER MAGUIRE is coming to the WICF
With Emer’s brand new stand up tour show PERFECTLY CHAOTIC selling out Belfast’s Waterfront Hall, more tour dates have just been added due to incredible demand!
Known for her powerful storytelling, lightning-fast wit, and hilariously irreverent musical interludes, Emer has cemented herself as one of Ireland’s most exciting comedic voices. She has sold out landmark venues including the Ulster Hall, Mandela Hall, and The MAC Belfast to rave reviews and roaring audiences. Recently named one of the top 10 new comic talents in the UK by Channel 4, Emer’s star continues to ascend sharply. She has also recently been commissioned by Channel 4 to write and star in sitcom Socially Awkward - a hilarious, heartfelt sitcom about her life as an autistic adult.
Perfectly Chaotic sees Emer dive into the beautiful mess of modern life — from questionable decisions to personal revelations, from daily disasters to the unexpected moments that shape us. Delivered with Emer’s trademark honesty, musical brilliance, and no-holds-barred humour, this show promises belly laughs, emotional whiplash, and more than a few moments of “I probably shouldn’t relate to this… but I absolutely do.”
A heartfelt, laugh-out-loud rollercoaster you won’t want to miss.
Nina gilligan brings her new tour to the WICF
The kids have gone, the house is quiet, and the spare bedroom has become a land grab.
Freedom is scary, and Nina is quietly losing her mind while pretending everything is absolutely fine… until it isn’t. After a lemoncake incident, Nina is banned from using heavy machinery. What follows is flirting with priests, turning to witchcraft and recreational substances — and the realisation that empty nesting is less gentle clearing and more violent reinventing.
Warm, sharp and self-aware, Nina Gilligan is back with a hilarious, unfiltered celebration of what it means to be a mature woman — standing in the wreckage of self-discovery and hoping there is a recipe that works. It’s not a breakdown. It’s a lemoncake moment.
Comedians’ Comedian 2025, Mercury Award Winner, Chortle Club Comic
Rachel Fairburn to close the festival
Hot on the heels of her critically acclaimed 2024 show Side Eye, Rachel Fairburn is back with new personalities and some old favourites for you to love and hate. Expect nepo babies, middle class rock stars, terrifying mothers, biting social commentary and lots of big laughs.
Co-host of International smash hit podcast All Killa No Filla and as seen on Live at the Apollo (BBC Two), Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled (Dave), Richard Osman’s House of Games (BBC Two) and Russell Howard Hour Life Lesson (Sky)