JANUARY COMEDY NEWS + SLEEPING BEAUTY PANTO REVIEW

Happy 1984 everyone!!

I hope you all had a jolly good festive break from the depressing reality of the world as it is, and made full use of the opportunity to stuff yourselves silly and drink yourselves into a merry stupor.

Seán Morley - in a basement near you tonight.

There's lots of comedy heading your way in Leicester to combat the inevitable January blues, starting with Comedy & Cocktails tonight at Manhattan34, which will be hosted by new comperes Lucy Thompson & Thomas Rackham (of TOAD Radio fame), who have taken over from Dave McGuckin as he prepares to leave our shores for the proud nation of Canada. Tonight's eclectic line-up features the always-excellent Seán Morley (listen to his outstanding BBC New Comedian of the Year set here), plus Tom King, Chris Wells, Scott Liversidge, Lindsey Santoro, Anthony Pollard and Jade Richardson, so get out and enjoy that lot tonight from 8pm!

REVIEW: Jonathan Pie at Hansom Hall / 'Yes Prime Minister' at The Little Theatre

Leicester was treated to a double dose of quality political satire on Thursday and Friday night, in the shape of two very different shows which embody two very different eras of politics and satire. Yes Prime Minister, although set in (almost) the present day, is very much rooted in a bygone age of politics and written in a style that has not graced our TV screens for many years. Whereas Jonathan Pie is very much satire for the modern 'social media' age, and even though this may lead you to suspect it is dumbed down for the 'attention-defecit' generation, it proved to be every bit as biting and well-written as the established classic that is Yes Prime Minister. There now follows a fairly lengthy review of both shows, along with a little bit of trivia and a couple of minor musings on the development of political satire over the past few decades.

Can't get no (ear)peace - Jonathan Pie

Brace yourselves for an autumnal comedy invasion! (2 of 2)

Hello again, and welcome to Part 2 of our round-up of all things comedic, Leicester-based and autumnal!

In our previous post (which you can read here) we detailed the 'Autumn Fridge' programme of locally-flavoured comedy treats on offer from the Leicester Fridge collective. Well now it's time to see what else is on offer over the next couple of months, and there's plenty of it...

Brace yourselves for an autumnal comedy invasion! (1 of 2)

Greetings fellow laugh-gannets, I do hope you all had a great summer. It was great to see so many awesome Edinburgh preview shows in Leicester, and then head up north to the Fringe itself in August. Whilst there, I was able to check out some great new shows, many of which are likely to be heading our way over the next few months, starting very soon indeed! All the comics have had their customary recovery period (known to the lay-person as September), and now, as the nights start to draw in, the nights out get funnier.
There is a whole host of choice comedic shenanigans heading our way in Autumn, so I'll stop waffling and get on with telling you exactly what to look out for!

PART ONE: AUTUMN FRIDGE

Those lovely folks at Leicester Fridge are always working behind the scenes in Leicester to bring you the very best of the local scene, and they've excelled themselves this time, by putting together a terrific programme of events that not only showcases the city's regular comedy nights, but adds to them with special one-off events, including a kids' comedy special for half term, various full Edinburgh shows, the odd new work in progress and a couple of charity specials. The full programme is as follows:

"OI MATE - CHEER UP, IT'S EDINBURGH PREVIEW SEASON!"

Greetings comedy-gannets! I trust you are having a pleasant summer so far, despite the whole country going batshit mental in the last couple of weeks.

There's been a lot of furious arguing going on, and everyone's been getting rather worked up about everything, so I think what we all need right now is a bloody good laugh to ease the tension. How lucky we are then, that Edinburgh Preview Season is upon us.

Every July, the city plays host to some of the finest comics in the land, who like to test out their Edinburgh shows on the refined palates of Leicester's comedy-savvy punters. This helps them to make sure that their new hour is as finely tuned as possible, ready for the month-long slog that is the Edinburgh Fringe.

So what cut-price delights can we expect to see this month?

WIN tickets to Gein's Family Giftshop & Goose at the Little Theatre!

Hello comedy fans, it's been a while, hope you're keeping well...
I also hope you've been keeping up with the city's recent comedy happenings, using the regular listings and updates that are posted by the lovely folks at Leicester Fridge on their facebook page.

Here at Leicester Comedy Scene, we're pretty excited to have been contacted by the agents for award-winners Goose and Gein's Family Giftshop, to spread the word about their fantastic double-header happening at the Little Theatre on May 25/26, and to offer a pair of free tickets for each show to you lucky people! These really are two fantastic shows, so I would highly recommend clearing a space in your diary to go and see them...

Nominations announced for Dave's Leicester Comedy Festival awards

The awards panellists for Dave's Leicester Comedy Festival held their annual bunfight last night, and the nominations have been announced for this year's awards, to be announced at the annual ceremony on Monday 21st March.

The nominations in full are:

Best Show:
Andrew O’Neill is Trapped Down A Well
Grainne Maguire: Great People Making Great Choices
Joanna Neary: Faceful of Issues
John Gordillo: Progress in Work
Pat Cahill: Panjandum

Best Debut Show:
Dude Looks Like A Lady
Glenn Moore: Glengarry Glen Glenn
Lucy Thompson: Lady
Pete Otway: Six Years From Then
Rob Kemp: Hubris

Best Venue (over 200 capacity):
Curve
De Montfort Hall
Just the Tonic - Leicester at Hansom Hall
The Little Theatre

Best Venue (under 200 capacity):
Manhattan34
The Cookie
The Criterion Free House
The Globe

Best New Venue:
Bob's Blundabus
BrewDog Leicester
O2 Academy Leicester
Peter Pizzeria
The Soundhouse

Best Promoter:
Jokes On Us
Dead Cat Comedy Club
Just the Tonic
The Cookie Comedy Club
Bottle Rocket Comedy Club

Contribution to the Festival:
Love Loughborough, Loughborough College and Melton BID
Everards Brewery
Leicester Fridge
Bob Slayer & Heroes

Make Me Happy community award:
Feed Bellies Not Bins
Fine and Funny Dining
Laughing with LOROS
Loving Laughing
Sharon Lockyer & Centre for Comedy Studies Research

Liberty Award for spirit of the festival:
Anthony King
Jokes On Us
St Martins Square & Comedy Box
14/48 Leicester
High Sheriffs of Leicestershire & Rutland
Weirdos Comedy

Best Poster: vote for your favourite here
President Obonjo Stole My Identity
Karen Sherrard: A Fete Worse than Death
Rob Kemp: Hubris
Michael Brunstrom: The Haywain Reloaded
Paul Foot's Game of Dangers
Adam Broomfield-Strawn: Falling Dumb
Ian Hall: IANertia
Jasper Cromwell Jones & Friends

Well done to all those nominated and good luck! :)

DLCF 2016 REVIEW - our favourite shows of the festival

.....and it's all over for another year. 

The biggest ever Dave's Leicester Comedy Festival ended yesterday with the final 35-ish shows of a whopping 780 that have taken place over the last 3 weeks.

Personally I probably saw around 30-35 shows (a little less than usual, having missed the middle of the festival due to illness), so obviously I missed plenty of great ones (particularly gutted not to have seen John Kearns). But I'm glad to say the ones I did see were of a consistently high quality, with these ones in particular standing out:

DLCF PREVIEW: PART ONE - We Could Be Heroes (at the Criterion)

Here we go again comedy fans - Dave's Leicester Comedy Festival is once again fast approaching, and so begins Leicester Comedy Scene's annual series of preview posts giving you the lowdown on what's in store at the 2016 festival. This year, each preview post will be centred around a venue or series of venues, in order to give you a broad flavour of what's going on where this year. Since a lot of press coverage focuses on the big TV acts appearing at De Montfort Hall or Curve, I thought I'd start by exploring a small and friendly corner of the festival, with a distinctly alternative flavour...

Heroes @ The Criterion & Bob's Blundabus.

This man used to be a jockey: Bob Slayer

5 Mixed bill showcase events that will help you decide what to see at the Comedy Festival

Face it, folks. The holiday period is over.
The leftovers have been guzzled, the hangovers suffered, the previously fart-filled house has been aired, and a nation is wearily going back to work and grudgingly re-adjusting to normal life.


It's not all doom and gloom though, because it means there's now less than a month to go until Dave's Leicester Comedy Festival starts - HOORAY!!! The fest proper begins on Wednesday Feb 3rd at which point over 700 shows will be occurring in the city and county, for 19 solid days of laughter. You can find official festival brochures all over the city, and all the shows are searchable online at the festival's website

Brochures available at a bar, cafe, takeaway near you!

Obviously it's pretty tough choosing from 700 shows, but luckily for us there are a few mixed-bill showcase gigs happening before then, to help you decide who to see at the festival:

WIN tickets to Paul Foot's 'Retrospective' triple-bill at The Cookie!

Surrealist comedian Paul Foot can never be accused of doing things 'normally'.

Ages of Foot - Paul through the years

He speaks in a strange, archaic-sounding dialect of his own invention; he moves like each one of his limbs has its own unique agenda; he dresses like a 1970s space-beatnik and consistently sports one of the most ridiculous hairstyles known to man.

All of this has led to Foot establishing himself as one of the most unique comics of his generation, with a loyal international following (known as his 'Connoisseurs') and a clutch of award nominations and wins to his name. Despite the oddness of his act, he has appeared on the likes of Russell Howard's Good News, 8 out of 10 Cats and Would I Lie To You?, and was a regular on Never Mind the Buzzcocks with his mate Noel Fielding.

Get a triple dose of Foot at The Cookie.

This Autumn, he is obviously in nostalgic mood, because he has decided to tour his favourite venues with not one new show, but three old ones. 'Retrospective' sees Foot return to his regular Leicester haunt, The Cookie, this Thursday, Friday and Saturday, to perform his shows 'By the Yard', 'Still Life' and 'Kenny Larch is Dead', each show followed by a question and answer session. Tickets for all 3 shows are available here.

And since he is going to be in Leicester for three whole days, he has decided to see the sights of Leicester, and has launched a drawing competition amongst his Connoisseurs, the winner getting to spend the day with him at the National Space Centre. For more details on that, visit his 'web log'.

CD cover for 'Ash in the Attic' - it's very good.
He talks about Shirehorses a lot. 

WIN! WIN! WIN! Did I shout that loudly enough? Probably not.... WIIIIIN!!!

Now, being the tremendously generous folks that they are, The Cookie have offered followers of Leicester Comedy Scene not one, but two chances to win a pair of tickets to ALL 3 SHOWS! This is pretty much the best prize we've ever offered on LCS, so make sure you enter and you could be enjoying a triple bill of surrealist genius on us!

To enter, all you have to do is share (facebook) or retweet (twitter) the Leicester Comedy Scene post about these upcoming shows, and The Cookie will select two of you at random, each receiving a pair of tickets to all 3 Retrospective shows. Shows take place at The Cookie, 68 High Street, Leicester, on Thursday 8th, Friday 9th and Saturday 10th October 2015, all shows are advertised as starting at 7:30pm.

So get sharing, and good luck!

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.

All the Winners from the DLCF awards PLUS winners of our ticket competition

Awards Panellist Chris Traill and host Pat Monahan get to grips with Best Festival Debut winner Phil Jerrod's mighty beard (picture courtesy of the Leicester Mercury)

Now that the dust has settled and the hangovers have receded from the Dave's Leicester Comedy Festival awards ceremony last night, here are all the winners in full from the glitzy black tie event held at Mercure Leicester (The Grand Hotel) on Granby Street:

Invasion of the award-nominees and FREE TICKETS to be won in our birthday giveaway!

Howdy there comedy folks! Hope you've all been enjoying a spot of relaxation since the festival ended, and I hope that by now you're getting over the various diseases you contracted from spending night after night in hot, airless, crowded rooms full of other people's germs. If it's a hearty 'yes' to both of the above, then you're probably about ready for some more comedy pretty soon, right? Of course you are... Well, I have some good news for you then. Read on for a round-up of what's coming up over the next month in Leicester (including more award-nominees than you can shake a stick at), as well as your chance to join our third birthday celebrations and win some awesome prizes!

Award-nominated - Jim Smallman

INTERVIEW: Ian Hall and Bruce Edhouse talk to us about all things Smashing

Leicester's newest monthly comedy night arrives with a bang (or should that be a smash?) on Wednesday 18th March at The Cookie. Club Smashing is the brainchild of Leicester mirth-merchants Ian Hall and Bruce Edhouse, who both had successful solo shows in the recent festival, as well as performing their first full show together as The Two Syds. 

Looking smashing in knitwear: Ian and Bruce

There is a general buzz about this night going around the local comedy scene at the moment, primarily because of the people involved and also because of the promise of something a bit different to your average comedy night. So, to give you the lowdown on what to expect from Club Smashing, Leicester Comedy Scene spoke to Ian and Bruce...

Nominations announced for DLCF awards 2015

Move over, Oscars - the judges have deliberated, the public have voted, and the nominations are in for the 2015 Dave's Leicester Comedy Festival awards. This year's festival featured a whopping 640 events in 47 venues across Leicestershire, so the chosen few should feel very proud to have been picked out from such a huge field of contenders. Some of the awards are decided by a panel of judges, some by the public and some by the festival organisers.

Another year, another nomination: Romesh Ranganathan

The Best New Show award includes the 2013 Best Show winner and Fosters nominee Romesh Ranganathan, alongside Fosters Best Newcomer winner Alex Edelman and Leicestershire's own Jim Smallman.

Dan Nicholas: photo courtesy of Lucy Peel Productions

Local hero Dan Nicholas is up for Best Festival Debut, a new category which also features two acts from last year's Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year final, Phil Jerrod and Elliot Steel.

Local newbies done good: Leicester Fridge

Leading the way in the other categories with two nominations each are newbies Leicester Fridge and Heroes@LCB Depot, and previous festival winners The Cookie, Curve and Just the Tonic - who are all up against against each other in the Best Promoter category.

The awards will be presented at a special ceremony on March 16, where it will also be revealed who won the two public votes that took place this year, for Best Poster and Legend of Comedy.

The full list of nominees is:

Best Venue (over 200 capacity):

Curve
De Montfort Hall
Just the Tonic @ Hansom Hall
The Little Theatre

Best Venue (under 200 capacity):

Firebug
Heroes@LCB Depot, Grays & Lightbox Studios
The Cookie
The Globe
Upstairs at The Western

Best New Show:
Andrew Ryan
Alex Edelman
Jim Smallman
Pippa Evans
Romesh Ranganathan

Best Festival Debut:
Colin Leggo
Dan Nicholas
Elliott Steel
Mark Stephenson
Phil Jerrod

Best Promoter:
Curve
Just the Tonic

Leicester Fridge
The Cookie

Best Poster:

Ian Hall: Out of Touch, Out of Time

The Further Adventures of Shirley

Alfie Moore: The Naked Stun

Just the Tonic Comedy Club

Mark Lucero: The Sauce of It

Contribution to Dave’s Leicester Comedy Festival 2015:

Leicester Fridge
Heroes@LCB Depot, Grays & Lightbox Studios
Nick Wisdom & De Montfort Hall

Make Me Happy community project:

Applause Productions
Leicester City Libraries
The Contact Project

Legend of Comedy Award:

Michael Crawford
Lee Mack
Stewart Lee
Rik Mayall
Tim Vine
Les Dawson

Huge congratulations to all the nominees from Leicester Comedy Scene!