The Leicester Comedy Festival is an annual comedy festival held in a number of venues across Leicester, England early in the year.
The Leicester Comedy Festival is an annual comedy festival held in a number of venues across Leicester, England early in the year.
In the early 1990s, De Montfort University arts administration student, Geoff Rowe [1] proposed a project to his lecturers to set up and run a comedy festival for Leicester. [2] Rowe called Tony Slattery, Harry Hill and Matt Lucas for the inaugural Leicester Comedy Festival in 1994, with 40 events at 23 venues for 5,000 tickets. [2] In 1995, the first Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year Award [3] was given to Stevie Knuckles, the best young comedian, later awarded to Johnny Vegas, Jason Manford, Josh Widdicombe and Romesh Ranganathan. [2] Leicester Comedy Fringe events occur in Loughborough, Lutterworth, Foxton, and Coalville. [2] Leicester Comedy Festival is Europe's largest and longest-running comedy festival with 560 shows at 64 venues. [2] Rowe founded Leicester Comedy Festival with The Big Difference Company, as a charity, providing opportunities for young people to "learn about comedy, address health inequalities and improve people’s well-being", launching The Big Difference venue for up and coming comedy in Leicester. [2]
Eshaan Akbar, Jo Brand, Sikisa and Stewart Lee, are now Patrons of The Leicester Comedy Festival, joining Tony Slattery. [4] [5]
The festival attracts over 60,000 people from all over the world and is seen as one of the 'Top 5 comedy festivals in the world'. [6]
Since then many top stand-up comedians have performed in the festival including Jo Brand, Jack Dee, Dave Gorman, Rory Bremner, Simon Pegg, Alan Davies, Bill Bailey, The Mighty Boosh, Johnny Vegas, Rich Hall, Jimmy Carr, Dara Ó Briain, Russell Howard, Dave Spikey, Harry Hill, Greg Davies, Sarah Millican and Romesh Ranganathan. The main programme is also complemented by workshops and outdoor street events to encourage the development of comedy skills. Every year towards the end of the Festival the Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year is announced.
To begin with, the festival lasted for just seven days. In 2010 the duration increased from 10 days to 17 days, then in 2015 it was increased to 19 days. [7]
| Year | Shows | Performers | Venues |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 40 | 23 | |
| 2011 | 370 | 50 | |
| 2012 | 410 | 50 | |
| 2013 | 530 | 50 | |
| 2014 | 627 | ||
| 2015 | 630 | 47 | |
| 2016 | 780 | 65 | |
| 2017 | 800 | 62 | |
| 2018 | 847 | 613 [8] | 69 |
| 2019 | 870 | 72 | |
| 2020 | ? | ? | |
| 2021 | ? | 0 | |
| 2022 | 560+ | 64 | |
| 2023 | ? | ? | |
The 2021 festival, staged during the COVID-19 pandemic, took place online. [9]
2014 saw the inaugural UK Pun Championships, at the festival, hosted by Lee Nelson. The winner was Darren Walsh. The competition included the line "My computer's got a Miley Virus. It's stopped twerking." [10]
In 2015, Leo Kearse beat off competition from fellow comedians Rob Thomas and reigning champion Darren Walsh to become the UK Pun Champion. [11] Leo won the contest with such jokes as "I was in hospital last week. I asked the nurse if I could do my own stitches. She said “suture self” and "Growing up on a farm, my dad was always telling me to use the indoor toilet. But I preferred to go against the grain" [12]
2016 saw the return of the UK Pun Championships hosted again by Lee Nelson. This year the winner was West Midlands comedian Masai Graham, with jokes such as "What's the difference between a hippo and a zippo? One's really heavy and the other is a little lighter" and "I love playing PGA Golf, but to say I have a weak shot on the greens would be putting it mildly" [13]
The 2017 UK Pun Championships saw a new location in De Montfort Hall and host in Jason Byrne. It also saw the introduction of a new layout for the show, with the "Pun Off's" taking place within a boxing ring that had been constructed within the centre of the stalls. Lovdev Barpaga aka "The 'Pun'jabi Warrior'" won against Julian Lee in the final. Lovdevs jokes included "Pakistani Pirates. Urdu they think they argh?" and "I think my Colombian neighbour's a drug lord, but I just car tell." [14]
The 2018 UK Pun Championships returned to De Montfort Hall in the boxing ring with host Jason Byrne on the 13th of February. After being beaten in the 2015 by Leo Kearse, Rob Thomas returned and beat 2nd time finalist Julian Lee to the title. [15] Rob Thomas' puns included: "When Leicester won the league, my mum bought a candle to celebrate. Now it just languishes in the middle of the table" and "Brexit. It's like a catheter for Britain. We're no longer in continent." [16]
Richard Keith Herring is an English stand-up comedian and writer whose early work includes the comedy double act Lee and Herring. He is described by The British Theatre Guide as "one of the leading hidden masters of modern British comedy".
Stewart Graham Lee is an English comedian, screenwriter, and television director. His stand-up routine is characterised by repetition, internal reference, deadpan delivery, and consistent breaking of the fourth wall.
Timothy Mark Vine is an English comedian, actor, writer, and presenter best known for his one-liners and his role on the sitcom Not Going Out (2006–2014). He has released a number of stand-up comedy specials and has written several joke books.
The Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year is held during the Leicester Comedy Festival every February. All the finalists picked are nominated by the UK's top comedy clubs and must meet certain criteria. The competition is sponsored by the Leicester Mercury, a local newspaper, and Equity, the actors union.
Shaparak Khorsandi, who previously performed as Shappi Khorsandi, is an Iranian-born British comedian and author. She is the daughter of the Iranian political satirist and poet Hadi Khorsandi. Her family left Iran for the United Kingdom following the 1979 revolution, and her Iranian heritage and reactions to it are frequently referenced in her stand-up comedy performances. Khorsandi rose to national prominence after her 2006 Edinburgh Festival Fringe show Asylum Speaker and her appearance at the Secret Policeman's Ball two years later. She has featured on numerous British television and radio programmes, including the BBC Radio 4 programme Shappi Talk, and I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! in 2017.
Geoffrey Frank Norcott is an English comedian, writer and political commentator. He first performed in 2001 and has appeared on Mock the Week, Live at the Apollo and Question Time, and written for The Daily Telegraph, The Independent and Spiked.
A League of Their Own is a British sports-based comedy panel game that was first broadcast on Sky One on 11 March 2010. The show is currently hosted by Romesh Ranganathan and features Jamie Redknapp and Jill Scott as team captains and Micah Richards and Mo Gilligan as regular panellists.
James Daniel Smallman is a stand-up comedian, radio presenter, professional wrestling promoter, blogger and voice-over artist. Smallman attended school in Hinckley, and went on to De Montfort University, graduating with a first-class Honours degree in English Literature.
Tony Cowards is a British stand-up comedian and writer, currently living in the East Midlands.
Just the Tonic is a comedy club with branches in Nottingham and Leicester, which also takes acts to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The club opened in Nottingham in 1994, followed by a Leicester branch in 2012.
Jonathan Romesh Ranganathan is a British-Sri Lankan actor, radio host and stand-up comedian. He is known for his deadpan, often self-deprecating humour.
Bob Slayer is an Edinburgh Comedy Award winning comedian, musician and promoter. He has been part of a new economic model for venues at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe which has made the event fairer and more affordable for performers and audiences. Acts that have performed at his venues have won and been nominated for a number of prestigious awards.
Nishant Kumar is a British stand-up comedian, television presenter, political commentator, and podcast host. He became known as the host of satirical comedy The Mash Report, now known as Late Night Mash. He has also presented BBC Radio 4 Extra's topical comedy show Newsjack, the Comedy Central series Joel & Nish vs The World, the BBC Radio 4 programme The News Quiz and Hello America on Quibi. Since May 2023, he has been the co-host of the political podcast Pod Save the UK.
Suzi Ruffell is a British comedian, writer, and actress.
The Ranganation is a British comedy show hosted by Romesh Ranganathan and broadcast on BBC Two. Ranganathan joins a group of 25 members of the public, including his mother, to discuss news events of the week. Two celebrity guests are also featured. The first series of six 45-minute episodes premiered on 19 May 2019. The second series of six episodes was filmed remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic and first aired on 10 May 2020.
Sarah Keyworth is an English stand-up comedian. She began pursuing a career in comedy in 2012, eventually going full-time in 2018 after she was nominated for Best Newcomer at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards. She has appeared on television comedy shows such as Roast Battle, The Now Show, The Dog Ate My Homework, Mock the Week, and 8 Out of 10 Cats.
Adam Rowe is an English stand-up comedian and podcaster from Liverpool.
Henry Paker is a British comedian, writer and illustrator.
Anthony Irvine, also known as the Iceman and aim, is a British performance artist and visual artist.
Leo Kearse is a comedian and broadcaster from Scotland. His comedy routines have earned him the Scottish Comedian of the Year award and UK Pun Champion. A self-professed right-wing comedian, Kearse is known for his robust defence of free speech in his acts and on GB News where he regularly appears.