Happy Festival, 19th & 20th May, 2023

We're celebrating what would have been Victoria Wood's 70th birthday with a live weekend of events inspired by her incomparable genius, and they way she made people feel. Happy!

Enjoy two brand new comedies at The Met in Bury on Friday 19th May. Then join us on Saturday 20th May for a fabulous daytime line-up of talks, performances, photography, and film at Bury Art Museum on Saturday 20th May from 11am.

On Saturday evening from 5pm at Bury Art Museum we’re cracking open the fizz and getting the party started with an unmissable variety evening of comedy and performance, kicking off with the ultimate Victoria Wood fan quiz, hosted by Noreen Kershaw. Tickets for the evening are limited, so book quickly!

Happy is made possible with the generous assistance of the Victoria Wood Foundation and Arts Council England.

Image © Andy Hollingworth

Highlights

“Did I Sing?”, an exhibition by Andy Hollingworth

When Victoria Wood passed away in the Spring of 2016, she not only left a hole in the national comedy consciousness, but also a legacy of work that will echo...

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Valley Radio – Happy Half-Hour by Steve Cooper

You, the audience, provide the sound effects for actor and writer Steve Cooper’s hilarious new comedy! That sound coming into your lug-holes is 184.3 FM, Valley Radio, your award-winning community...

Learn More

50 and Nifty by Beverley Green

Age is NOT just a number! 50 and Nifty is a self-help group aiming to keep men and women in later life active, offering classes that promote self-worth and wellbeing....

Learn More

Acting for Camera – a workshop with Peter Carroll

No-one could act for the TV with more comic subtlety than Victoria Wood. So, actors, this is your chance to hone your camera acting skills at Peter Carroll’s brilliant three-hour...

Learn More

Jasper Rees in conversation with Susan Lord

Jasper Rees, author of Let’s Do It, the best-selling biography of Victoria Wood, talks to Bury Art Museum curator Susan Lord about the thrills and challenges of working with the...

Learn More

Noreen Kershaw, Joanne Moss in conversation with Sally Naden

Three brilliant, inspirational women get together to chat about their careers and experiences in TV and entertainment. Don’t miss this unique chance to hear actor and Call the Midwife director...

Learn More

The J.O.B – screening & talk

Watch the screening of this short and pithy film specially commissioned for Happy from director Paul Blinkhorn and writer Abdul Rahman Chunara. Confronting modern day office politics over tea and...

Learn More

A Happy Variety Evening

An evening of entertainment to raise a glass to the wonderful Victoria Wood on what would have been her 70thbirthday weekend. Celebrations kick off with the ultimate Victoria Wood fan...

Learn More

"I'm going North. It's a compulsion with me. Even in Tesco's I head straight for the freezer cabinets on the back wall."

"I'm apparently something of a celebrity since I walked the Pennine Way in slingbacks in an attempt to publicise mental health."

"It's just one of the things I've always wanted to do, swim the Channel. And meet Bonnie Tyler."

"I can't say this often enough. It may be Hamlet, but it's got to be fun, fun, fun!"

"I'm learning a language. It's called 'Get By In Flemish'. I'm learning it in case I ever go to Flem."

"He said, do you want a drink or do you want a kick up the bum with an open toed sandal? I said get you Eamonn Andrews."

"You're separated aren't you? Yes, he's livin int loft. He's got the lilo and the slow cooker. We don't speak…"

"They said they'd made out a little wedding list. Little? It made the Domesday book look like a raffle ticket…"

"I can remember when pants were pants! You wore them for 20 years then you cut them down into pan scrubs or quilts."

"Life is very tough for these Northern women, I did a cameo in a Barbara Taylor Bradford; heartbreaking…."

"Well he's not my husband but he brushed past me in a sports jacket so as good as..."

Exhibition May 13

“Did I Sing?”, an exhibition by Andy Hollingworth

When Victoria Wood passed away in the Spring of 2016, she not only left a hole in the national comedy consciousness, but also a legacy of work that will echo...

Find out more

Comedy May 19

Valley Radio – Happy Half-Hour by Steve Cooper

You, the audience, provide the sound effects for actor and writer Steve Cooper’s hilarious new comedy! That sound coming into your lug-holes is 184.3 FM, Valley Radio, your award-winning community...

Find out more

Book Now
Comedy May 19

50 and Nifty by Beverley Green

Age is NOT just a number! 50 and Nifty is a self-help group aiming to keep men and women in later life active, offering classes that promote self-worth and wellbeing....

Find out more

Book Now
May 20

Acting for Camera – a workshop with Peter Carroll

No-one could act for the TV with more comic subtlety than Victoria Wood. So, actors, this is your chance to hone your camera acting skills at Peter Carroll’s brilliant three-hour...

Find out more

Book Now
May 20

Jasper Rees in conversation with Susan Lord

Jasper Rees, author of Let’s Do It, the best-selling biography of Victoria Wood, talks to Bury Art Museum curator Susan Lord about the thrills and challenges of working with the...

Find out more

Book Now
May 20

Noreen Kershaw, Joanne Moss in conversation with Sally Naden

Three brilliant, inspirational women get together to chat about their careers and experiences in TV and entertainment. Don’t miss this unique chance to hear actor and Call the Midwife director...

Find out more

Book Now
May 20

The J.O.B – screening & talk

Watch the screening of this short and pithy film specially commissioned for Happy from director Paul Blinkhorn and writer Abdul Rahman Chunara. Confronting modern day office politics over tea and...

Find out more

Book Now
Comedy May 20

A Happy Variety Evening

An evening of entertainment to raise a glass to the wonderful Victoria Wood on what would have been her 70thbirthday weekend. Celebrations kick off with the ultimate Victoria Wood fan...

Find out more

Book Now
May 21

The Brighouse and Rastrick Band

The Brighouse and Rastrick Band is regarded by many as the best and most consistent ‘public subscription band’ in the world. In its time the majority of premier band championships...

Find out more

Book Now