Michaelmas 2026

Expect laughs, laughs, and more laughs...

Footlights bring you the funniest songs, sketches, monologues and stand up in an evening of non-stop, back-to-back fun-filled hilarity. The material is always original and always varied. It can be soft and silly; rude and spikey; wordy and nerdy or a little surreal - whatever the style, it's always "uproariously funny" (Varsity)

Join the Cambridge Footlights for the home run of their 2026 Tour Show: Prize Cow (For My Best Son).

Boasting far fewer actual cows but far more student comedians than the average county fair, this hour of zany sketches guarantees a night of hilarity in signature Footlights style. Watch these five prize cows of the Cambridge comedy scene in a vaudeville-esque mashup of surreal vignettes, celebrity impressions, and the odd song or two. Don't miss “The most renowned sketch troupe of them all” (The Independent) with the final performances of this year's summer tour show.

Footlight and 2026 Chortle Student Comedian of the Year Finalist, Isaac Tompkinson, has never (Oct 2003-present) made a mistake.

If you’ve seen him do something wrong then it was intentional, most likely ironic, and certainly avant-garde. It’s fine if that goes over your head, not everything is for you. You probably do get it though; I get the vibe that you’re the sort of person that gets things. You’re a fork among spoons. In this new stand-up show Isaac wants to see if he can keep that perfect streak going for another sixty minutes. For one night only he'll take to the stage to prattle about things of great import and so I command thee: Lie no longer in the mud! Rise and stand, be square-shouldered and steely-eyed! Show yourself to be one of the special few and hear the wise man speak.

When Footlight Tom Sweeney enters a room, all he wants to do is make everyone in it happy, and not hate him. As the room gets bigger, this gets more difficult.

Join Tom in one of his biggest rooms yet and be delighted by his desperate attempts to make you smile, giggle, and even laugh. He'll tell little jokes, he'll pull silly faces, he'll stomp about the stage and talk about being from Leeds a bit too much considering he's losing the accent. All he wants to do is make you happy for an hour; surely that's something you want?

Leaky radiators.

Dodgy PE teachers.

Ice packs for brain haemorrhages.

A Comprehensive Understanding is a fast-paced, character-led comedy created by and for the state school kids. Expect surreal satire, painfully accurate assemblies, and the kind of humour forged in the chaos of the British comprehensive system.

Get ready to see where your tax money is going - leave your lacrosse sticks, fancy crests and Latin mottos at the door…

Footlight Julia Da Costa has a big problem. She tried to solve it. And now she’s stuck in outer-space.

When a plan to cure a life-long fear by embarking on a solo space mission goes awry, the pilot is left alone in the stars. The upside? It makes a great story. Armed with a ukulele and a dream, join her for an evening of comedy, characters and songs as she finds out what it really means to face her fears.

What do you do when you suddenly have all the time in the world? Play one-person Twister, I guess.

Behind You! is a comedy sketch show that takes the mickey out of all things panto, dragging fairytale nonsense into the most boring corners of real life.

Packed with audience interaction, awkward fourth-wall breaks, hilarious monologues, and happy endings that go slightly wrong, Behind You! leans into everything we love about pantomime and makes it naughtier, weirder, more awkward, and even sillier. Larger-than-life characters bring a fast-paced barrel of laughs where the audience are part of the chaos.

A playful celebration of panto magic, Behind You! will undoubtedly build excitement for this year's CUADC/Footlights Pantomime: Cinderella.

Well you’re probably not that vain, but this show might be about you. Or at least, somewhat relatable to you.

Footlights President Freya Bielby has recently discovered what ‘self-love’ is and it would have been a whole lot easier to accept once she got to grips with the fast-paced, overthinking and intense brain she got stuck with. She’s learnt to accept herself, as long as her past thoughts never ever come up again…

Cinderella longs for the simple things in life: a loving family, a welcoming community, and a bedroom without rats. But in the Kingdom of Newtopia, everyone except her best friend Buttons, is too busy to stop for a quick chat, say hello, or even make eye contact.

And so, when the King announces a lavish ball for Newtopia's richest, Cinderella isn't too impressed - but everything changes when she meets the shy yet charming prince outside the palace gardens.

If Cinderella wants to reunite with the Prince and defeat the Wicked Stepmother’s wickedest plan of all, she’ll need a miracle. Will her wish be granted? Get your festive fix of fun, fantasy, and fits of laughter in this year’s CUADC/Footlights Pantomime: Cinderella.