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Laugh Your Socks Off
They say laughter is the best medicine and boy could we all do with a few laughs from time to time, particularly during the dreary and depressing month of January. No need to fret though as February will arrive soon enough and that can only mean one thing – the Leicester Comedy Festival… we can’t wait until the fun starts on the 5 February.
According to the Guardian, Leicester Comedy Festival is touted as “one of the best comedy festivals in the world” and has a long tradition of bringing some of the country’s biggest TV names alongside the most exciting, innovative and emerging talent to Leicester.
So, what acts can we look forward to? Brace yourselves as there is a long list including Jo Brand, Stewart Lee, Milton Jones, Shappi Korsandi, Fascinating Aida, Paul Sinha, Josie Long, Jason Byrne, Tony Slattery, Angela Barnes, Griff Rhys Jones, Andy Parsons, John Shuttleworth, Dane Baptiste, Rhod Gilbert, Mark Steel, Flo & Joan, Arthur Smith and Reg D Hunter.
The UK Pun Championships has been a total sell out for the past four years with contestants from all over the world taking part. It’s been a major part of the Comedy Festival and links with the crazy phenonmen #UKPunDay. The concept of the championship is a rap type battle which takes place in a boxing ring surrounded by an audience who sit in the round. Contestants take turns to pun about random topics and after a full evening of pun-based comedy, 2 finalists fight it out until a winner is crowned.
Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year
It’s the longest running comedy competition in the UK and takes place on the 22 February for its 26th edition. A whole host of famous talent has performed at the competition, including Jimmy Carr when he entered in 2007. The now famous John Bishop entered in 2001 and can you believe the Leicester Mercury review read – “we think we’ll be hearing more from him in the future”. Now was that an understatement or what! Jack Whitehall, now one of the biggest names on the UK comedy scene was also a runner up in 2008. You could be watching the next big name!
We all know kids can be funny from the things they say and do which can have us in hysterics. So what could be better than a dedicated comedy festival for kids. The UK Kids Comedy Festival was launched last year and is designed with kids at the heart. It proved to be a huge success with over 30 shows, workshops and events engaging children, young people and their families. There was even a Laugh Term Comedy School which was a dedicated half term programme for aspiring teenagers to develop their skills and experience of performing live comedy culminating in a end of week showcase.
It’s a fantastic competition aimed at the finest upcoming comedians aged 55+.
Did you know the first Silver Stand Up Competition was won by Shelley Bridgman who continues to gig regularly across the UK and is also a founder member of the Trans Comedy Award working with BBC writers to develop scripts that portray funny and positive representations of the trans community.
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