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.

Cookies, Fridges & Blundabuses - it must be Edinburgh Preview season again! (PART 3 of 3)

Welcome to Part 3 of our Edinburgh preview season round-up. We've already covered the extensive summer programmes from The Cookie and Leicester Fridge, but that's not all that's happening in Leicester this summer...

All partied out - Matt Forde

Bottle Rocket Comedy have just announced their preview shows, which are taking place, as always, upstairs at Firebug. There will be a couple of return visits by acts who are already previewing elsewhere in the city (ie, Bobby Mair, Alex Edelman & Nish Kumar), along with some political satire from Matt Forde and upfront social commentary from Imran Yusuf.

Cookies, Fridges & Blundabuses - it must be Edinburgh Preview season again! (PART 2 OF 3)

Welcome to part 2 of our 3-part Edinburgh Preview season round-up. We've already looked at the impressive line-up at The Cookie this year (if you missed that post, click here to read it).

Next, and making their preview season debut, is Leicester Fridge. They made a big splash at this year's DLCF with their extensive promotion of local acts and special showcase events, and now they're back with an ambitious five-day programme of shows across four venues.

Cookies, Fridges & Blundabuses - it must be Edinburgh Preview season again! (PART 1 OF 3)

"Ooh it comes around so quickly every year doesn't it?" is the kind of vacuous twaddle you hear dribbling out of people's sound-holes every time an annual event is looming. Well none of that here - Leicester Comedy Scene so enjoyed the last Edinburgh preview season that we're literally foaming at the mouth at the prospect of more Fringe previews, rendering us unable to utter even the most basic inane small talk. So here we go with the first of three posts detailing the various delights we can look forward to in Leicester during late June and July (which shall hitherto be referred to as 'preview season').

MAY/JUNE ROUND-UP including new nights, Edinburgh previews etc

Ahoy there fellow comedy-lubbers! Or should that be lovers? I dunno, whatever. I'm bored of that nautical nonsense already. Obviously it's been a little while since I posted, so I thought I'd do a bit of a round-up of the scene in general, so that you're all up to date with current comedy happenings in the Leicester 'hood, because there have been a few changes and new additions to the regular comedy scene...

Gareth Richards headlines at the Comedy Cafe

Firstly, after Club Smashing burst onto the scene in March, another brand new regular night has appeared, and it's on tomorrow at the LCB Depot (one of my favourite venues during this year's festival). It's called Comedy Cafe and is hosted by the lovely Ben Ennis, with the first instalment arriving tomorrow night (Friday 1st May), doors open at 7:30pm. This month's line-up features long time Ennis collaborator and all-round chatty fellow/nice guy Kevin Hayes, 'Midlands New Act of the Year' Josh Pugh, the larger than life comedy whirlwind that is Annette Fagon, and the contrastingly introverted Chortle Nominee Gareth Richards. Tickets are £9 advance or a tenner on the door, more info and tickets here.

Comedy & Cocktails is still going strong, every first Tuesday of the month at Manhattan34. This month's line up on the 5th May features David Anthony Wood, Juice, Dan Mayo, Luke Dixon, Graham Milton and Aaron O'Tang, and is hosted by guest compere Daniel Nicholas, which should add a mildly unhinged flavour to proceedings. Check out the facebook event here.

The afforementioned Club Smashing returns on Wednesday 20th May with more surreal experiments and abstract silliness. This month's theme is Birthdays, and will feature the varied talents of Jason Neale, Matthew Hollins, Alex Hylton and Dave McGuckin, with sketches from Neil Johnston & Graham Milton, and singalongs with 'Karen Oakey Karaoke' and 'David Coverdale’s Cover Versions'. Once again your hosts for the evening are Bruce Edhouse & Ian Hall, this time assisted by the inimitable Shirley Rentokill.

Proper Funny's Jason Neale showboating with the 'Battle for Leicester' Trophy

Proper Funny Comedy, the first winner of the 'Battle for Leicester' trophy, has now become a monthly night at The Criterion. The next one takes place on Saturday 30th May, featuring Aaran O'Tang, Alex Hylton, Graham Milton, Owen Morris, Peter Thomas and Sarah Keyworth, and is hosted, as always, by sweet little pussycat Jason Neale. Take a look at the facebook event here.

Also going from strength to strength at the moment is Alex Hylton's Exchange Comedy Club. Since moving to a 'free entry/pay what you want on the way out' model, Alex has been packing the room out, which always makes for a great atmosphere. Headlining this month is Bethany Black, with supporting slots from Matt Hollins, Jack Campbell and Colin Havey. That happens on Thursday 21st May.

'English Comedian of the Year' Jack Campbell visits The Cookie on Saturday

Also worth getting excited about is Edinburgh Preview season, which is just around the corner. I'll be doing a full post on that soon, but for now it's worth knowing that tickets are available for all of The Cookie's extensive programme of shows - most of which are in July but there are a couple of early ones such as the crowd-pleasingly witty Jack Campbell this Saturday (2nd May) and his old chum from uni, the wild-eyed innovator Daniel Nicholas, on Saturday 13th June. Tickets for all The Cookie's shows are available here.

And speaking of Edinburgh previews, there have been very audible rumblings on the scene that after their debut success in this year's festival, Leicester Fridge are about to announce some exciting shows for the summer - we'll keep you posted...

Also worth a mention are the following events:
- The Same Faces (game-based improv), Sat 2nd May at The Criterion
- Us & Them (performance showcase, featuring some comic and some more serious acts), May 3rd at Embrace Arts
- House of Verse / Poetry Brothel (described by the organisers as "Words, flows, chuckles, beats, comfy seats"), Friday 15th May at Manhattan34
- Forget Me Not: An Alzheimer’s Whodunnit (Rob Gee's murder mystery set on a dementia ward), Fri 22nd May, Upstairs at The Western

That's all for now. As I said, there will be a full feature on the upcoming Edinburgh preview season soon, but until then, get out and get laughing!

Ta-ra for now,

Paul.