Leicester comedians compete for spots at Edinburgh Fringe

By Alice Wilson

Hundreds of unsigned comedians are competing for 12 spots available at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival at Just The Tonic in Leicester.

Next Tuesday will see the last night of The Big Value Comedy Auditions while they take a six week break over the Christmas period.

Comedians from all over the country are being judged by ‘Big Joe’ and the acts that he likes are asked back for a second audition. If they do well there then they will be off to Edinburgh to perform every day for a month.

Matt Holmes, assistant manager at Just the Tonic, said: “Big Value started many years ago when four comedians decided they wanted to put on a comedy show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

“The yearly show has gone from strength to strength featuring the up and coming stand-ups from Sarah Millican to Jason Manford.”

Last year auditions were held at the Nottingham venue too but this year they have been kept in Leicester to keep things simple.

The first of this year’s auditions started in October and there has been a reasonably steady build in the number of people going to watch, with a number of regulars turning up every week.

Mr Holmes added: “We have had no less than 30 audience members on any given week whilst the most we’ve had is about 80.”

These auditions are your chance to see newer acts before they could become famous on the comedy circuit.

Next Tuesday’s show starts at 8pm at Just The Tonic in Leicester City Centre with doors opening at 7.45pm. Tickets are free if you book in advance or you can buy them for £3 on the door.

Or if you would like to audition for Big Value after Christmas contact Joe on joe@justthetonic.com.

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