Comedy news in Leicester 2012

This page is part of the comedy section

13th March

Just the Tonic comedy club launches in Leicester

just the tonic comedy club

What's happening?

Just the Tonic Comedy Club is pleased to announce the opening line up of its new comedy club on Granby Street, Leicester.

Who is behind Just the Tonic?

Nottingham based Just the Tonic has been providing comedy in the East Midlands for 18 years. Starting off as a Sunday night venture in 1994, the organisers have built a national reputation for high quality shows at reasonable prices. They are also renowned for spotting new talent at an early stage. Now with a full time comedy club in The Forum in Nottingham and a venue at The Edinburgh Festiva, they branching out in to Leicester.

Why are they so good?

Claims to fame include hosting Ricky Gervais's first ever stand up performance, having regular comperes such as Johnny Vegas, Daniel Kitson and Ross Noble before they were famous. Acts that have performed include Al Murray, Peter Kay, Bill Bailey, John Bishop.

What are they going to do in Leicester?

At present the programming will include Friday and Saturday night bills with established acts from the circuit, as well as tour shows and one offs. There will also be The Big Value Comedy Show auditions. These will be free to get in. Just the Tonic audition comedians from all over the country to take to their Edinburgh Festival package show, The Big Value Comedy Show. Previous participants include Sarah Millican, Jim Jeffries, Jason Manford, Charlie Baker, Josie Long, Seann Walsh, Patrick Monahan and many many more.

Who Cares?

Darrell Martin, founder and regular compere at Just the Tonic says "Leicester is a great place for comedy, as shown by Dave's Leicester Comedy Festival. We really feel that we can bring some high quality comedy to Leicester outside of the festival to keep the city laughing. The venue has a history of comedy, it's a great room and we are going to fill it with our usual high quality laughs and charge reasonable prices. We are very excited and already have some big names lined up including Milton Jones, Sean Hughes, Ardal O'Hanlon (Father Dougal from Father Ted), Ed Byrne, Russell Kane, Michael Winslow (the funny noises bloke from Police Academy), Tom Stade and The Boy With Tape On His Face. There will be loads more announced soon."

Geoff Rowe, of Dave's Leicester Comedy Festival says: "It's great news that Just the Tonic have announced the launch of a Leicester club as it will be a real added boost to the existing comedy scene in the city. Just the Tonic have a great reputation for booking brilliant new acts as well as the biggest names as special guests and I'm delighted that they are re-opening the closed Highlight venue on Granby Street."

Dates for the shows in March are up now on our Comedy Gig Dates page.

8th February

Comedy Film Festival

The Cofilmic Best of the Festival comes to Leicester, Phoenix Arts on Saturday 18th February .

Get the details from our Film News page

3rd February

Leicester begins to laugh

Dave's Leicester Comedy Festival begins today. People will begin to laugh out loud at the venues of Leicester fill up for the funnies. Our festival is the longest running one in Europe.

Dave's Curry House is the festival's new venue, based at the Chutney Ivy restaurant, in Rutland Street, half way between Curve and the new Hotel.

In a bid to 'cheer up Leicester', DMU students have teamed up with Dawn To Dusk magazine and Embrace Arts, aiming to work up a campaign that includes sock-puppet sketches and flash mobs. They want members of the public to tell a joke and upload it to YouTube. Find out about that on their Facebook page.

This year Dave's Leicester Comedy Festival has twinned with the Zulu Comedy Festival (Copenhagen) and Phoenix will be showcasing The Best in Danish Stand-Up from the 3rd to 5th Feb. The Scandinavian fun continues on the 3rd and 4th Feb with Special Aid! 4 experienced actors who thrive on live improv!

Students support Comedy Festival

Students from De Montfort University are collaborating with Dave's Leicester Comedy Festival to promote and run the events at The Exchange Bar, Belmont Hotel and The Criterion.

First year Arts and Festivals Management students will be promoting 90 shows across this year's 17 day festival. Acts include hotly tipped newcomer Suzi Ruffell, Kiwi favourite Jarred Christmas, and former Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year winner Carl Donnelly.

After making a success of The Criterion over the last few years, the course has expanded, with students taking on three venues. The Arts and Festivals Management students at DMU are looking forward to working on such a great cultural event sponsored by Dave.

Charlotte Roser, De Montfort University, Student, Arts and Festival Management (BA Hons) first year, expressed her enjoyment on working for the festival "It is great to be given the opportunity to work with such a well-known festival as Dave's Leicester Comedy Festival. At times, it can definitely be a challenge, but one that is always rewarding. We students cannot wait to meet our comedians and get the festival under way. I am really enjoying myself, and I know the comedy festival will continue to be a huge success."

Tony Graves, De Montfort University Lecturer, is looking forward to seeing the students' hard work coming together "I love Dave's Leicester Comedy Festival because it provides brilliant opportunities for our arts management students to get invaluable hands on experience promoting venues and comedy nights as part of their degree".

31st January

The Funny Side

To coincide with Dave's Leicester Comedy Festival, Embrace Arts presents The Funny Side, an original exhibition taking place from Monday 6 February to Friday 9 March.

Featuring the work of six visual artists and their explorations of humour, The Funny Side is a vibrant display of lively paintings, satirical comic strips, light-hearted illustrations, and bizarre sculpture.

Personal reflections are displayed alongside scathing observations, and laugh-out-loud cartoons are guaranteed to uplift and amuse! Among the artists are: Chie Hosaka, whose surreal illustrations reflect on the absurdity of reality and the strangeness of human behaviour; Corrina Rothwell, a Nottingham-based artist and illustrator with a collection of digital images injected with dark humour and daftness; freelance cartoonist and illustrator, Brendan Keeley, and his hilarious cartoon strips; Paul Warren and his uplifting imagery that borrows creative elements from caricature and cartoon; painter and sculptor Bob Robinson, whose work captures darkly humorous moments of daily life; and Richard Peel, with artwork brimming with memorable characters and wry observations. Stella Couloutbanis, Visual Arts Manager for Embrace Arts, commented: "Embrace Arts is thrilled to be collaborating with so many wonderful and talented artists. Not only is it fantastic to be a part of Dave's Leicester Comedy Festival, but it is also a brilliant opportunity to show that visual art has a sense of humour too! I cannot wait to hear the chuckles bouncing off our gallery walls."

Find out more from the Embrace Arts web site

25th January

Dave's Leicester Comedy Festival 2012 at Curve

This February, DAVE'S LEICESTER COMEDY FESTIVAL (3 to 19 February 2012) returns to Curve with a variety of hilarious and affordable comedy offerings.

Curve is one of the busiest venues of the festival with 21 shows during February. Curve's line-up includes the best in stand-up, theatrical comedy, female impersonation, European black humour, local performers, Sing-along-a and a Bronte spoof!

Curve are also running a CurveBall 'Comedy Talent Nights' competition during the festival, giving aspiring stand ups an opportunity to perform in front of an audience with a prize of £150 and a slot at the Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year show.

A Curve Collaboration - HOTEL PARADISO (16 to 18 Feb) The Studio Performances at 7.45pm Tickets £10.50 - £18.50

In their only UK date on a European tour, Curve is extremely proud to present the awe-inspiring Familie Floz in their joyfully dark character comedy.

See more on our comedy gig dates page

23rd January

Just The Tonic launches

Just the Tonic Comedy Club announced that they are to open a new comedy club the former Highlights on Granby Street in Leicester. Nottingham based Just the Tonic have been providing comedy in the East Midlands for 18 years. Starting off as a Sunday night venture in 1994 they have built a national reputation for high quality shows at reasonable prices. They are also renowned for spotting new talent at an early stage.

Just the Tonic will be working with the local comedy scene, including Dave's Leicester Comedy Festival.

Darrell Martin, founder and regular compere at Just the Tonic said "Leicester is a great place for comedy, as shown by Dave's Leicester Comedy Festival. We've worked with the festival before, in and around Leicester. We really feel that we can bring some high quality comedy to Leicester outside of the festival to keep the city laughing.

"The venue has a history of comedy, it's a great room and we are going to fill it with our usual high quality laughs and charge reasonable prices. We are very excited and already have some big names lined up including Milton Jones, Sean Hughes, Michael Winslow (the funny noises bloke from Police Academy), Tom Stade and The Boy With Tape On His Face. There will be loads more announced soon."

Geoff Rowe, of Dave's Leicester Comedy Festival said : "It's great news that Just the Tonic have announced the launch of a Leicester club as it will be a real added boost to the existing comedy scene in the city. Just the Tonic have a great reputation for booking brilliant new acts as well as the biggest names as special guests and I'm delighted that they are re-opening the closed Highlight venue on Granby Street."

Big Eat 2

Hundreds of free city centre parking spaces are being made available for an event combining the best in food, drink and entertainment.

The Big Eat 2 event, on 7th February, is being run as part of this year's Dave's Leicester Comedy Festival, which is the longest-running comedy festival in Europe and which is expected to draw over 70,000 visitors to the city next month.

Big Eat 2 will build on the success of the first Big Eat event in October 2011, which saw nearly 40 city centre restaurants, pubs, coffee shops and takeaways wowing diners with a range of special offers and mouth-watering treats. The popularity of both the Dave's Leicester Comedy Festival and the Big Eat events means Leicester City Council is making hundreds of extra parking spaces free to visitors on February 7.

Newarke Street car park will offer free parking from 6 pm to 1am, with the Haymarket Centre, The Lanes and Dover Street car parks all free of charge from 6 pm to 12 am.

Visitors will also be able to use any of more than 300 free night-time spaces created across the city centre over the last few months. Details of this year's Big Eat 2 offers will be available at www.oneleicester.com/bigeat

Silver Stand Up

A new comedy competition is being launched to tie in with Dave's Leicester Comedy Festival, taking place from 3 -19th February 2012.

The Silver Stand Up of the Year Competition is open to any comedian aged over 55 and will take place as part of the festival. The competition will be launched at a special event being held on Thursday 24th November 2011 at Embrace Arts, Leicester from 11am.

Silver Comedy is Britain's first specialist comedy training company seeking to enrich the lives of older people through actively engaging them in comedy workshops and performances. Past work has taken place across the UK and focused on interactive workshops featuring improvisational comedy and games and comedy sketch writing courses leading to live performances. The launch of this competition encourages older people to perform pure stand up