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Leicester Comedy Festival Roundup

  • by David Hoskin

Leicester Comedy Festival continues to grow in significance within the comedy world, and this year’s lineup is one of the best to date! The range of shows on offer varies in style, genre, and stage of development. From slick, award-winning shows to rough-around-the-edges works in progress, it’s a dynamic programme catered for the most varied tastes. Plus, there’s every chance you'll catch the next Edinburgh winner treading the boards at one of Leicester’s many venues! 

Speaking of which, there are dozens of new venues this year, including Leicester Cathedral, The International, De Montfort Students' Union, and The Soundhouse in the city centre. Beyond the city, county venues such as The Old Plough, Barkby Cricket Club, and Sunny Skies Café—just to name a few—are also hosting shows. 

If you’re in or around the city this February and fancy chasing away the winter blues, make sure to check out one of these shows!  

8 February 15:30 

Knightmare Live 10th Anniversary Show (Interactive/Improv), The Y Theatre

Light the beacons! Rouse the villagers! Gather all your courage... for the smash hit comedy show of the cult 90s TV classic! Dungeon master Treguard opens the  doors once more for the very special, 10th anniversary tour of the hilarious homage to the TV show that dared to say, what if we put children in a helmet and led them to their death?

8 February 17:00 

Joe Kent-Walters is Frankie Monroe: Live!!! (Character), Firebug - Upstairs

Here he is. Yorkshire’s biggest bastard. WINNER: Best Newcomer Edinburgh Comedy Awards 2024. If you haven’t seen him yet, you must be mad. Get to it!

8 February 21:30 

Steffan Hånes and Greg Lass: The Ritual (clown), Duffy’s Bar - Venue Space

Uh oh! Steffen Hånes, The Master, arrives with his loyal servant Gregory Lass as Gregor to conduct The Ritual. This is your invitation to revel in the company of vampires - dare you accept it? It’s about to get spooky Leicester. 

9 February 16:00 

Ollie West: Discovery (WIP) (clown), Duffy’s Bar - Venue Space

From one of the creators of Big Zeus Energy (nominated for Best Debut Show  Leicester Comedy Festival 2023, sell-out Edinburgh Fringe 2023) and  Nightwatchman (sell-out Edinburgh Fringe 2023), a one-man physical comedy and  sketch show about a caveman. It’s daring, strange and very, very silly. 

15 February 15:30 

Marcel Lucont: Les Enfants Terribles - A Gameshow For Awful Children (family friendly), Sue Townsend Theatre 

Winner: Best Kids Show 2022 - UK Kids Comedy Festival. Top 10 Kids Shows -  Time Out, The Scotsman, Broadway World. We had to include a family option in our list and this is the crème de la crème: the award winning anarchic gameshow returns for a third year, where kids compete to be the most awful child.. "An absolute gem... if you don't have kids borrow someone else's... a treat from beginning to end" ★★★★★ Edinburgh Festivals magazine.

15-16 February 17:30, 14:30 

Readymades (clown), Just the Tonic at The Exchange Bar 

Are you ready to run with the urinals? Levi Meltzer and Sam Berlin invite you into their debut hour: Part clown, part puppets, part multimedia chaos play. READYMADES will have you asking “Is this art?” The answer is “We’re almost sure of it.” Come check out some hot new alternative talent!

16 February 16:00 

Kathy Maniura: The Cycling Man (WIP) (character) - Duffy’s Bar - Venue Space

The Cycling Man is middle aged, newly single and he’s spent the salary of an NHS nurse in Decathlon. Get to know this absurd and deeply flawed man as he gets to know himself. From Kathy Maniura, BBC New Comedian shortlisted 2023 and Leicester Comedy Festival Best Debut nominee 2023. Brilliantly observed character comedy from a rising star. 

16 February 18:30 

Consignia: Refluxus (alternative/musical/improv/etc), Phoenix - The Ne

It's always nice to go to a comedy show, knowing exactly what you're going to get and that you're in a safe pair of hands. There's such a lovely comfort in certainty. Nominated in 2019 and 2022 for the Best Improv/Musical show at the Leicester Comedy festival Awards, despite being neither Improv or Musical. Once seen never forgotten, whether you want to or not. 

18 February 19:00 

Bex Turner: Bexual Healing (character comedy/alternative), King Richard 3rd Pub

You've had your main course, now it’s time for an after eight bint. Join us for a saucy, Bexually charged show of dark character comedy from Bex Turner. Bexual Healing is a retro character comedy show in which the audience come across four awkward female characters from the 1920s-1990s. An hour in Bex’s company is uniquely strange and side splitting! 

19 February 20:30 

David Hoskin in A Haunted House (mime/alternative), Just the Tonic at The Exchange Bar 

A Haunted House is a hysterical, terrifying and surreal tale, about one hair-raising night in a haunted house. Merging mime, physical comedy and sound design this show is a must for fans of horror and comedy alike! A story of murder, jealousy, and dancing zombies, told through snappy vignettes and time loops. This ghost train of a tale is for those who like their laughs big and their scares spine chilling!

22 February 15:40 

Lucy Pearman: Lunartic (WIP) (clown), The Guildhall - Mayor Parlour

Lucy Pearman is working out a new show and wobbling around as the moon. There will definitely be a song, a cow and in an ideal world, an audience. She is excellent in all phases of her cycle. 

23 February 12:30 

Siblings: Dreams in Progress (sketch), Firebug - Upstairs 

Critically acclaimed character comedians and IRL Sisters, Maddy and Marina Bye (Byes) have spent the last two years asleep dreaming up inventions.. about  dreams.. and inventions. This is sketch comedy gone subconscious. Bring a pillow, you bunch of dreamers. ★★★★ (Telegraph) 'Ferociously funny' (Guardian) 'Natural-born comedians' (Metro) 

23 February 15:40 

Charlie Vero-Martin: WIP (alternative comedy), Duffy’s Bar - Venue Bar

Scottish comedian, actor, Playface regular and top weirdo plays with brand new stand-up material, stories and characters. After sellout shows at Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leicester, VAULT and Soho Theatre festivals, Charlie needs your help to work out what to do next… 

23 February 16:00 

Chris East: My Brain is Soup, Your Hands are the Spoons (clown), Just The Tonic at the Exchange Bar

An absurdist character-comedy from a helpless clown. Chris East's brain is  overflowing, like a chunky idea soup filled with unformed thoughts, bizarre plot plans, ambitions, and characters, so many characters. Cracking sausages, too. 

If you're still looking for shows then check out these too: Mikey Bligh-Smith: Full Frontal Mikey Mode, Michael Brumstrom sings ten songs about Moths, Big Zeus Energy presents Werewolves of London, Lil Wenker: Bangtail. Okay, that's all our recommendations for now otherwise we'll be here for days - there are SO MANY good shows on this year, make sure you check out Leicester Comedy Festival whilst its on from from 5–23 February 2025. Who are you going to see first?

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