The longest running comedy festival

The longest running comedy festival in the UK will run for a whopping 17 days next year, with dates for Leicester Comedy Festival 2010 confirmed as 5th – 21st February.

Leicester Comedy Festival Director, Geoff Rowe, said: ”We’re delighted to announce that Leicester Comedy Festival is growing. This year’s event was a huge success and we want to extend the number of days to allow for a more balanced programme. Extending it will also allow for more daytime shows over school holidays and make more sense in terms of the infrastructure installed to create venues and a festive atmosphere across the city.”

The festival has developed massively since it began in 1994 and now attracts over 300 shows to 40 venues across Leicester and Leicestershire. The 2010 festival line-up includes top comics Julian Clary, Lee Mack, Phil Nichol, Rhod Gilbert, Susan Calman, Count Arthur Strong, Shappi Khorsandi, Jon Richardson, Tim Vine, Ian McMillan, Stewart Lee, Jack Whitehall, Jimmy Carr, Pam Ayres, Nina Conti, Jason Byrne, Pappy’s Fun Club, Andrew Lawrence, Sarah Millican, Paul Chowdry and Sean Lock.

The programme for Leicester Comedy Festival 2010 will also feature a range of extraordinary events in unusual venues – The Blind Tiger Meal, a secret dining club where diners are served an amazing meal in a secret location and treated to a live comedy show; Charity Shop DJ -a lounge club where guest comedians play records exclusively found in charity shops and chosen by audience members and the Ian McMillan Orchestra performing their songs and stories in Leicester Cathedral.

In 2010 the annual gagsta’s showdown, the Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year Competition will celebrate 16 years of presenting tomorrow’s comics, today. Previous award winners include Mitch Benn, Rhod Gilbert, Jason Manford, Johnny Vegas, Henry Paker and 2009 winner Seann Walsh.

Once again the festival has given over its final night to a Gala Charity Finale at The Little Theatre. All proceeds from Comedy Heaven, featuring the best acts from the festival, will go to Amnesty and Prostaid.

The Leicester Comedy Festival Preview Show will take place on Friday 15th January 2010 at De Montfort Hall, Leicester. The show, hosted by the inimitable Barry Cryer, will feature: Shappi Khorsandi – comedian and author of “A Beginner’s Guide To Acting English”; Nina Conti – “fabulous flourishing of wit and imagination” The Guardian; Seann Walsh – Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year 2009 and Leicester’s very own Jim Smallman plus a few special guests.

www.comedy-festival.co.uk

For more information, interviews and photographs contact: Anna Arthur/ Victoria Hoole, 0207 637 2994 or victoria@arthurleone.com

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