Wednesday 22 July 2015

Last call for Edinburgh Previews and five-day Fridge fun!

Hi folks! 

hope you've been enjoying the Edinburgh previews that have been going on at The Cookie, The Globe and Firebug. There have been some excellent shows so far and the previews continue tonight wth Nish Kumar & Matt Forde at Firebug, and Joel Dommett & Ivo Graham at The Globe,  as well as Andrew Ryan & Nathan Caton at The Cookie on Thursday, and Gary Delaney & Sarah Kendall at Firebug on Sunday.


The 'coolest' line-ups in town (geddit?) - Summer Fridge

Just a quick reminder that the five-day Summer Fridge event kicks off today at The Cookie, with delightfully daft character act and festival favourite Ian Hall performing his hour show 'Out of Touch, Out of Time', supported by clever, skewed thinking of Graham Milton, the fantastical musings of Richard Peel and the abstract physical comedy of Cheekykita.

This is the first of five days of comedy from Leicester Fridge, the team that burst onto the scene at this year's festival, with a series of sold-out showcases of Leicestershire-based comedians and a giant wave of marketing and promotion to help big up the local talent, getting nominated for Best Promoter and Outstanding Contribution to the Festival along the way.

Again this time, there is a plethora of local acts, with some previewing their Edinburgh shows (The Two Syds, Jason Neale, Alex Hylton & Sarah Keyworth, Thomas Rackham & Lucy Thompson), some resurrecting their hit shows from February's Leicester fest for those that missed them (Ian Hall's 'Out of Touch Out of Time', Matt Hollins' 'Blabyshambles', Lindsey Warnes Carroll's family-friendly 'The Further Adventures of Shirley'), the odd mixed bill (Proper Funny Showcase @ The Criterion, The Comedy Inquisition @ Manhattan34, support acts for Ian Hall @ The Cookie).

There are also some cracking acts from further afield - the Fridge have invited promoters who run regular local comedy nights to book their favourite acts to perform their Edinburgh previews for the delight of the Leicester folks. So we have the critically acclaimed 'Weirdos' Beth Vyse (with a brand new show) and Adam Larter (who has written a show especially for Leicester), TV's dark prince of stand-up Bobby Mair, quirky and unique Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year finalist Stephanie Laing, 2014 English Comedian of the Year Jack Campbell, and international sell-out kids show Juliette Burton's 'When I Grow Up'.

It's certainly worth taking a punt on a few shows, because they are all Free Entry, with a bucket at the end so you can chuck in a couple of quid if you enjoyed the show, to help cover the comedians' and promoters' expenses!

I hope that's alcohol-free beer - Bob's Blundabus

And that's not all - after the Fridge ends on Sunday 26th, there are a few more treats in store for you before everyone clears off to Edinburgh, including chaos and laughter on board Bob Slayer's Blundabus on Wednesday 29th; interactive, interdisciplinary, mixed media shenanigans from Commentary at The Phoenix on Thursday 30th; and finally an Oxjam fundraiser with a fine bill of up-and-comers at The Exchange on Friday 31st.

This has been a truly great summer of comedy for Leicester, so I hope you've managed to get out and see some shows instead of just lounging about in the sunshine waiting for Autumn - and if not, go and see some of the above - you could probably do with a good giggle, right? :)

Cheers,
Paul.