New acts, punsters, and the over-55s

Leicester Comedy Festival has announced the finalists in the various competitions to be held at next year’s event.

The most prestigious prize is the Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year, whose winners since it started in 1995 a have included Johnny Vegas, Josh Widdicombe and Romesh Ranganathan.

The finalists, put forward by comedy promoters across the UK, are: Louise Young, Omar Abid, Good Kids, Matt Bragg, Eric Rushton, Mustafa Fecto, Nina Gilligan and Dinesh Nathan

They will compete for the title  on Saturday February 22 at The Y, Leicester.

One of the festival’s biggest gigs is the UK Pun Championships, to be held at De Montfort Hall on Monday  February 10 and hosted by Jason Byrne.  

This year’s competitors have been confirmed as: Iain MacDonald, Philip Simon, Stevie Vegas, Richard Pulsford, Richard Woolford, Chris Norton Walker, Adele Cliff and Kat Molinari.

The Silver Stand Up Competition has been running at the Leicester festival for the past eight years for comedians aged over 55. Taking part in this year’s final, at Peter Pizzeria on February 20, are Romaine, Kevin Hudson, Candy, Brian Cowles, Jimbo, James Ward, Carrie Miles Brown, Nik Hill, Jenny Bt, Stylophobia, Sally Firth, Pat O’Connor, Karen Blott  and Kym Winstanley

The festival has also announced the comics who will benefit from its Union Jack Radio Circuit Breakers initiative, a crowdfunding  campaign asking people to pledge money to support new comedians.  

They are Elie Kraft, Martin Durchov, Charlie George, Charlie Hopkinson, Wilson, Sharlin Jahan, Dannie Grufferty  and  The Extra Virgins. Showcase, and they will take part in  showcases at Peter Pizzeria on  February 14 and 15; and at  The Bill Murray in London on March 18.

Leicester Comedy Festival director Geoff Rowe, said ‘We’re hugely proud of our commitment to new talent. We’ve been inundated with applications from acts for all our competitions and showcases, and we are delighted that so many are from across the UK and not just London.’

The event features more  than 850 shows across 92 venues from February 5 to 23.

Published: 19 Dec 2019