Coastal Comedy launches at Verwood Hub with Angela Barnes

Coastal Comedy Club is bringing its stand-up nights to Verwood for the first time. The club launches at Verwood Hub, the Dorset Council-run arts and community centre in the east Dorset town, on Saturday 17 October 2026, with Angela Barnes as headliner, the Bournemouth Echo reported on 24 September.

The date and line-up match the venue's own listing on the Dorset Council website, which bills the evening as a launch night special.

Who is on the bill?

Angela Barnes headlines. She left a career in health and social care for stand-up in 2010, won the BBC New Comedy Award within a couple of years and became a regular on Mock the Week; she has also played Live at the Apollo and appears on Radio 4's The News Quiz.

The support acts are comedy magician Wayne the Weird, who mixes stand-up with magic, and David Arnold, a Welsh comedian with competition credits including So You Think You're Funny. Adrienne Coles, the club's founder, hosts the night, as she does every Coastal Comedy show.

Coles told the Echo she lives locally, picks every line-up herself and sees Verwood Hub as a good new home for a night that has grown popular across the area.

Who are Coastal Comedy?

Coastal Comedy is an independent club founded in 2015, according to its own site. Each show follows the same format: three professional comedians, usually including a television headliner, plus the host, in a small venue with a bar. The club runs regular nights in Bournemouth, Poole and Ringwood, and is for over-18s.

It has collected local awards along the way, including a gold in the night-time category at the BH Star awards in 2019 and a string of Prestige Awards for comedy in Dorset and the South West. Past acts listed by the club include Ed Gamble, Rosie Jones, Joel Dommett and Lost Voice Guy.

What it means for visitors

Verwood is a small town north of Ferndown, roughly half an hour's drive from Bournemouth town centre, so this is a night out for anyone with a car or a lift. If you are staying in town without one, Coastal Comedy's Bournemouth and Poole dates are the easier option, and the Bournemouth Guide's getting around without a car guide covers the buses and trains.

October is a good month for indoor nights out. The guide's what's on calendar lists the season's events by date, its autumn page covers what the coast is like as the evenings draw in, and our round-up of the BIC and Pavilion autumn season has the bigger stand-up tours coming to Bournemouth. For more ideas, see our guide to entertainment in Bournemouth and our look at the towns near Bournemouth worth a trip.

Planning a comedy weekend? A short-term stay on the West Cliff puts you within walking distance of the town centre venues, and the Help Centre explains how self check-in works if you arrive late.