WIN tickets to Bottle Rocket's Edinburgh preview shows

Those jolly fellows at Bottle Rocket Comedy Club are putting on a fine selection of Edinburgh preview shows during June and July, and two lucky winners will each win a pair of tickets to one of those shows - how lovely.

Edinburgh-bound: Tom Rosenthal & Pat Cahill

Their full schedule of preview shows is as follows:

JUNE:
Thu 20th - Nick Helm, Daniel Simonsen @ Firebug
Wed 26th - Romesh Ranganathan, Brett Goldstein @ Firebug
Thu 27th - Tom Rosenthal, Pat Cahill @ Firebug

JULY:
Thu 4th - Carl Donnelly, Carey Marx @ Firebug
Thu 11th - Zoe Lyons, Chris Stokes @ Firebug
Thu 25th - Glenn Wool + Special Guest @ Firebug

WIN FREE TICKETS TO 3 GIGS to celebrate our first birthday!

We're back, y'all - and it's party time!!

Leicester Comedy Scene is now officially one year old (woohoo!) and so, suitably rested from the festival and in the mood for a celebratory comedy binge, we have not one, not two, but THREE SETS OF TICKETS to be won in our 'Official Leicester Comedy Scene Birthday Ticket Giveaway Bonanza'!
OK, so it could do with a snappier title. And I need to use fewer exclamation marks. No sod it - I'm allowed to 'cause I'm excited...(!)
Ahem. Read on, comedy fans...

COMEDY LISTINGS - March 2013

Right then - with the Festival done and dusted for another year, it's time to resume something approaching normal service in Leicester, which means firstly that comedy fans might actually be starting to enjoy some normal evenings at home; and secondly that all the comics who performed will be either relaxing in the knowledge that their new shows are coming together nicely, or nervously trying to book more practice gigs and write new material if their shows didn't fare so well. It also means once again that Leicester Comedy Scene is the only place you'll find full monthly listings of all the city's comic happenings (smug mode engaged).

Katherine Ryan

Picks of this month include panel show botherer Katherine Ryan at the Cookie this Thursday, political animal Mark Thomas at JTT, two chances to catch newly crowned Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year Romesh Ranganathan, and what is apparently the last ever Lions Eat Ice Cream (sobs into cornflakes). Read on, comedy fans...

FESTIVAL AWARD NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED!!

As those involved in the festival have been slowly catching up on sleep and trying to restore some sense of normality to their lives, the merry band of festival judges have been deliberating and arguing the toss over which shows and venues deserve special recognition at the festival awards ceremony later this month. The nominations were unveiled earlier today, and there are some pretty surprising choices!

Nominated - Leanne Mckie reprised her role as local crooner 'Eng'
 in Barbara Steele's Wheels of Steel

Obviously I'm delighted to see my good friend Leanne Mckie's epic 2 hour cavalcade of mentalness Barbara Steele's Wheels of Steel nominated for Best Show, alongside Francesca Martinez and newly-crowned Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year Romesh Ranganathan amongst others. Spunky young kiwi Rhys Mathewson is up for Best New Show in a strong field including local songster Anthony King and TV regular Charlie Baker.

FESTIVAL DIARY DAY 16 - Romesh rules and Al rocks the Korma-bunker

So on to Saturday 23rd Feb, the penultimate day of Dave's Leicester Comedy Festival, and my appointment with destiny as I took my place on a panel of comedy luminaries to judge the prestigious Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year competition.

I met with the judges in the lobby of the Ramada Encore Hotel, where most of them were staying for the night. I was first to arrive and I sat sipping tea with Geoff Rowe the festival director, as one by one the great and good of the comedy industry joined us - Steve North (General Manager of the Dave TV channel), Andy Leitch (formerly part fo the festival organisers, now working for Off the Kerb who represent some of the biggest stars in comedy - seriously check out their website and be amazed at the number of famous names!), Sarah Farrell (Head of Content & Development for Comedy Central), promoter Mick Perrin (whom I had watched on BBC iPlayer just the previous night along with his star client Eddie Izzard) and last but not least Bruce Dessau, comedy reviewer for the Evening Standard and writer of the 'Beyond the Joke' blog). To say I felt honoured and privileged to be amongst such company is a somewhat cheesy and oft-used sentiment, but thoroughly appropriate under these circumstances. After the meeting and greeting we headed several yards along the street to Chutney Ivy and enjoyed a lovely selection of Indian treats and a chatted over a cheeky beer, before proceeding to The Y Theatre to take our seats at the judges' table.

Host - Jarred Christmas

Delaney and Whitehead top the bills this weekend...

Mock the Week regular and master of the finely crafted one-liner Gary Delaney continues his recent spate of appearances in the city this weekend, headlining the Bottle Rocket night at the Y Theatre on Saturday. I saw him a couple of weeks back and he really is at the top of his game at the moment - his clever and often twisted quickfire gags kept the audience hooting right through his set, and you get the impression he could've gone on reeling them off all night. Support comes from eccentric storyteller Tom Allen - star of TV, radio, film and the Edinburgh Fringe. Also appearing are Grimsby-born singer-turned-comic Lloyd Griffith and compere Simon Feilder (that is the correct spelling - I've checked!). Tickets are a tenner from http://brcomedy.com/events/

Meanwhile at Just the Tonic, deadpan Canadian Jason John Whitehead returns with his winning mix of sharp wit and 'likeable slacker' persona. To see him in action is to think "This is what Shaggy from Scooby Doo could've made of himself without the distraction of a huge talking dog or the constantly depressing presence of 3 proactive high-achievers around him". Support comes from BBC New Comedy award-winner Angela Barnes and regular compere Romesh Ranganathan. All 3 are appearing on Friday and Saturday night, get your tickets here: http://www.justthetonic.com/leicester-comedy/

Comedy for rich and poor alike this weekend

The ever-increasing divide between rich and poor will be in sharp focus this weekend in Leicester, with gravelly-voiced Welsh superstar Rhod Gilbert performing two nights at DeMontfort Hall (Friday and Saturday). Tickets are predictably not cheap at 25 quid, but if you're one of the lucky few with any wages left this month, tickets are available here: http://www.demontforthall.co.uk/events/events.php/2012/841/rhod-gilbert/

For those with a slightly more modest budget, Friday night sees the return of Five Pound Friday at Just The Tonic. This week's budget bonanza features Ivan Brackenbury, the inept and inappropriate hospital radio DJ, with support from bogus clairvoyant Ian D Montford, deadpan Canadian import Jason John Whitehead and regular compere Romesh Ranganathan. To get tickets for just five of your actual British pounds, go here http://www.justthetonic.com/Leicester-comedy/shows/friday-22-jun-2012/713/ and enter the promo code FIVERFRIDAY. If you can't make it, the same line-up appears again on Saturday, but not for five quid.

Sunshine and laughter - bumper weekend of comedy coming up!

You lucky, lucky people.
As if the gorgeous weather wasn't reward enough for the foul extended winter we've all had to endure for so long, there's also a fine crop of comedy happening in the city this weekend to broaden your smiles and further flush your sun-kissed faces.

Shouty, sweating nutbox Nick Helm is headlining Just the Tonic on Friday and Saturday (if you haven't seen him yet I would strongly recommend doing so), supported by Romesh Ranganathan, Dan Evans and Tim Clark. Get your tickets here: http://www.justthetonic.com/leicester-comedy/

Pretty much the antithesis of Helm, Peep Show's very own sweet little songbird Isy Suttie brings her tour show Pearl and Dave to the Y Theatre on Friday night (see my previous post for an exclusive interview). It's a part-musical love story set in her home town of Matlock, and promises to be as touching as it is funny. Tickets etc reside here: http://www.leicesterymca.co.uk/y-theatre-whats-on-details.php?listing=1073

Also on Friday night at the Cookie Jar is Shaggers Comedy, which returns to the city after a sell-out show during the comedy festival. As the name suggests, it features a quartet of comedians telling hilarious real-life tales of a sexual nature. For more info and tickets, get thee here: http://www.thecookiejarleicester.co.uk/events/shaggers-comedy/

And if you're not all laughed out (or hungover & sunburnt enough) by Sunday evening, there's another dose of Should I Stay or Should I Go? at Kayal, the showcase for new comics presented by Spiky Mike, in which the audience decides who stays on and who goes home to cry themselves to sleep. Details etc be here: http://www.funhousecomedy.co.uk/html/fun_house_comedy_venues_leicester.htm

So there you have it. There is literally NO EXCUSE for not going to see at least one of these fine shows this weekend (and no I will not accept "I forgot coz I was drinking in the park from midday").

We're back, baby! May comedy listings...

Hello there you lot. Sorry I've been away for a little while, hope you haven't been too lost without your regular comedy updates. Of course you haven't - you didn't even notice, did you?

Anyway, I know we're already half way through May, but here are your listings for the rest of the month, so you can stop shivering and wretching like character from Trainspotting now:


Tue 15th - Lions Eat Ice Cream (open mike night) @Hub
Wed 16th - Nibbles with Giggles (charity comedy night with pie) @Entropy
Thu 17th - New Act Night (Ben Hustwayte MC) @The Cookie Jar
Fri 18th/Sat 19th - Barbara Nice, Rob Deering, Barry Castagnola, Romesh Ranganathan @Just the Tonic
Mon 21st - Laughing Glass @ The Looking Glass
Tue 22nd - Student Comedy Forum @Just the Tonic
Fri 25th - Isy Suttie @The Y Theatre
Fri 25th - Shaggers Comedy @The Cookie Jar
Fri 25th/Sat 26th - Nick Helm, Romesh Ranganathan, Dan Evans, Tim Clark @Just the Tonic
Sat 26th  - Leanne Mckie, Ian Crawford, Liam Mullone @ The Black Horse, Aylestone
Sun 27th - Should I Stay or Should I Go? @Kayal
Thu 31st - Andrew O'Neil, Rob Beckett, Nick Cranston, Rob Coleman, Tony Jameson MC @The Cookie Jar


There, that should keep you off the crack for a while. As usual, if you know of anything else that might have slipped my gaze, drop me a line on leicestercomedyfestival@gmail.com, on the Leicester Comedy Scene Facebook page or on Twitter @leiccomedyscene, and I'll duly add it to the list.
It's good to be back :)

Four top comics for a tenner at JTT this weekend

The Easter weekend is here and that means most of us are enjoying a lovely four-day break from stinky old work - hurray! If you're looking to fill your festive break with some laughs, then get yourself to Just the Tonic tonight or tomorrow, where Tom Stade, Jason John Whitehead, Bryan Lacey and Romesh Ranganathan will be performing for your delightment and entertainance. No they are not real words.
It's a real mixed bill so there's bound to be something to suit your comedy palette. For more info on the acts and to grab yourself some tickets, just head to Just the Tonic's site of webness:  http://www.justthetonic.com/Leicester-comedy/shows/friday-6-apr-2012/684/