The Wells Comedy Festival – now in its sixth year – returns this May and the first 46 shows are now on sale.

Over the bank holiday weekend of May 22 to 24 England's smallest city plays host to a "weekend-long stand-up jamboree" (The Guardian), with dozens of comedy shows taking place at six venues in Wells, all within walking distance of one another.

Performing at the shindig are comedian, podcast host and Hot Fuzz star Adam Buxton – who is already sold out, Netflix star and Edinburgh Comedy Award winner Bridget Christie, legendary controversial American comic Reginald D Hunter, TV regular Mark Watson, Taskmaster champion Lou Sanders, absurdist maestro Paul Foot and QI star Sindhu Vee.

There are Live at the Apollo stars galore – including Dane Baptiste, Rhys James, Mawaan Rizwan, Jessica Fostekew, Jen Brister, Fin Taylor, Sara Barron and Larry Dean – plus Edinburgh Comedy Award nominees Mat Ewins, Lucy Pearman, Tony Law, Alun Cochrane, Glenn Moore, Sam Fletcher, Joseph Morpurgo, Jayde Adams and Kieran Hodgson.

There's also Radio 4's Mitch Benn, Viceland stars Harriet Kemsley and Bobby Mair, Colin Hoult's character creation Anna Mann, stand-up and podcaster Stuart Goldsmith, Funny Women Award winner Gabby Best, provocative stand-up Alfie Brown, absurdist favourite Pat Cahill, star of BBC's Jerk Tim Renkow and the Comedians Cinema Club's version of Wells's very own Hot Fuzz.

All of these shows – and four gala shows showcasing a secret line-up of the best of the fest – are on sale now via the red button below.

Ben Williams, founder and producer of the festival, said: "We're so excited to announce so many shows for this year's festival, with many returning favourites alongside new faces. Stay tuned for more announcements."