Latest news with #LeicesterComedyFestival
Edinburgh Reporter
21-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Edinburgh Reporter
Fringe 2025 – Loz Dodd: This Can't Be It
Multidisciplinary artist, comedian, and clown, Lawrence Dodd will perform 'This Can't Be It' at Edinburgh Festival Fringe for the first time this year – a boundary-pushing experimental comedy show about trying (and failing) to make sense of it all. Loz Dodd believes he's creating something monumental in this playful, meta show that never quite begins. Slipping through distractions, tangents, songs, and moments where the audience's presence shapes what unfolds – the show is a playful exploration of uncertainty, delighting in losing its own thread while exploring the strangeness of life and our attempts to understand it. Not knowing is both the method and the point. In 2025, 'This Can't Be It' has been performed at major UK comedy festivals such as Leicester Comedy Festival, Glasgow International Comedy Festival and Brighton Fringe. It previews at Edinburgh Fringe from the 10th – 19th August 2025. Contradictory characters flicker between earnest and absurd, sincere and surreal, reflecting the overwhelm of trying to pin down what matters in a world that never stands still. Beneath it all is a desperate longing for connection and understanding: a search for depth in a culture that keeps us skimming the surface. Lawrence Dodd Lawrence Dodd is a london-based alternative comedian and clown who has won over audiences around the UK with his unique blend of spontaneity, sensitivity and 'never-defined but ever-present air of chaos' (Reviews Hub). He has trained with established practitioners such as Julia Masli, Dan Lees, Spymonkey, Dr Brown, Bryony Kimmings and Hannah Bolou. Lawrence's work draws on the spontaneity and openness of contemporary clowning, the improvisational risk and audience interplay of performance art, and the restless, experimental energy of his years with Housewives – a band known for weaving together abrasive textures and unexpected euphoria. A longstanding Buddhist practice quietly informs his approach, bringing a sensitivity to uncertainty and a focus on presence that runs through the work. As a neurodivergent artist, Lawrence's perspective is shaped by a mind that finds connections and absurdities where others might not, giving the show an off-kilter and unpredictable energy, where tangents and sudden shifts reflect the quality of the neurodivergent mind. Vennue 151 The Laughing Horse Tickets here. Like this: Like Related
Scotsman
20-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Best show nominee Sam Nicoresti returns to the Fringe with 'Baby Doomer'
Described as 'simultaneously smart and silly' by Chortle, Leicester Square New Comedian of the Year Winner and Chortle Best MC Nominee Sam Nicoresti returns to Edinburgh Fringe from 30 July to 24 August (except 11th) at 5.40pm at Pleasance Bunker 2 with Baby Doomer (Best Show Nominee Leicester Comedy Festival 2025), a show about losing your mind and finding the perfect skirt suit. In the summer of '23, following a sartorial emergency in a TK Maxx changing room and a stressful house move a whole minute round the corner, the acclaimed comedian and burgeoning trans icon lost their mind. Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Sam Nicoresti's previous Edinburgh Fringe show, Cancel Anti Wokeflake Snow Culture, was picked out by The Guardian and The Week among others before becoming the genre-defying breakout hit special Wokeflake, whose bold routines on the trans experience have blown up online, amassing over 4.5million views on Instagram with celebrities including Sarah Silverman reposting them. Baby Doomer is a story about breakdown, recovery and the persistence of love. In a time of unprecedented mental health crisis amongst marginalised folx and a growing attitude of doomerism towards the problems of the world, Sam Nicoresti offers a disarmingly relatable deconstruction of the human experience hidden by the labels we place on others and ourselves. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Baby Doomer is also about a comedy night in a care home, a strange proposition in the sperm bank, changing your name and joining a cult… Sam Nicoresti: Baby Doomer Sam Nicoresti is a multi-award-winning comedian from Birmingham known for creating cerebrally silly shows informed by absurdism, cinema and music which explore states of consciousness, identity, and cosmic dread. Sam won Leicester Square Theatre New Comedian of the Year in 2021, has had two Fringe shows transfer to London's Soho Theatre and was nominated for Best Compere at the Chortle Awards 2024. In 2025 their new show Baby Doomer, was nominated for Best Show at Leicester Comedy Festival. Sam has also been part of projects including The Glang Show, Weirdos Comedy Club and the Panel Prize-winning Iraq: Out & Loud. Sam lives in North London and is also a film-maker, musician and friend to cats.
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Comedian Kayleigh Jones to perform in Oxfordshire this summer
A musical comedian will speak about her nine-year mission to find her dad when she brings her newest show to Oxfordshire. Kayleigh Jones will bring 'I Fed My Dad to a Pelican' to Goring Village Hall on July 9 at 7.30pm. The show, which was nominated for Best Debut Show at Leicester Comedy Festival, tells the story of how on Christmas morning in 2010, Ms Jones discovered the man she thought was her dad, was in fact not. Kayleigh Jones (Image: Karla Gowlett) Kayleigh Jones (Image: Karla Gowlett) Her debut hour takes the audience on a nine-year quest to track down her real father. Ms Jones said: "I have always enjoyed finding comedy in the darker life experiences. "Laughing at trauma is my go-to coping mechanism, which is lucky, as I seem to be someone who attracts bizarre life events. "Also, I did some research and, so far, it appears I am the only person in the world to have fed their dad to a pelican, so I'm making history here." Kayleigh Jones (Image: Karla Gowlett) Kayleigh Jones (Image: Lynsey Nicol) Ms Jones is a working-class comedy performer with a background in acting and musical theatre. She has performed at The Comedy Store London, the Bloomsbury Theatre, and the Glee Club. 'I Fed My Dad to a Pelican' received high praise from whose reviewer said: "I can honestly say this was the best comedy show I have ever seen and that includes Netflix's stand-up collection."
RTÉ News
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- RTÉ News
Stuart Goldsmith: The stand-up comedian standing up to climate change
Climate change is no laughing matter. It's such a big, huge thing to talk about that most people wouldn't think it's good material for their comedy... But, Stuart Goldsmith is one comedian who thought - why not?! He's the host of the internationally renowned Comedian's Comedian Podcast and he is our special guest on the latest episode of Ecolution. Listen to the Ecolution podcast on RTÉ, Apple or Spotify now. Over the years, Stuart has interviewed some superstars of comedy, including Jimmy Carr, Bo Burnham, Kathy Griffin, Sarah Millican and James Acaster to find out the habits and processes that help them to create - and cope. The podcast has had over 25 million downloads. In recent years he has turned his attention to the climate crisis. It is now the main topic of his stand-up and the core of his recent special - Spoilers. Stuart says: "Spoilers is about the climate crisis. It's a frank and funny look at how we can all do more to alleviate our own dread and combat inertia. You'd think it would make you feel worse, but it leaves you feeling impatient and full of energy. It won Best Show 2023 at Leicester Comedy Festival and was one of the best-reviewed shows at the Edinburgh Fringe." We spoke with Stuart about how to communicate your fears, help people be better informed about our environment, and create change from a very different perspective. While we are all in a good mood, this edition of the Ecolution Panel looks at some good news stories. It's very easy to think it's all bad, but there are so many amazing people doing great things to help our planet. Press play above as Evie and four young climate activists from the Irish Schools Sustainability Network (ISSN) tell us more.
BBC News
11-02-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Leicester: Puns see comedian crowned UK's number one
Knockout punchlines delivered inside a boxing ring saw a new winner crowned in the 2025 UK Pun format of the contest was a royal pun-ble inside Leicester's De Montfort Hall, with six combatants testing their wittiest quips as part of the annual Leicester Comedy Festival contest on Monday was tasked with throwing a salvo of one-liners on themes posed by host Jason Byrne, with the noise of the crowd used to pick the B Found's wordplay saw him take the crown, with the punny funster "baffled" at the outcome, crediting a love of "cracker jokes". Mr B Found - whose full name is William Bicknell-Found - was presented with the Championship Belt designed by Cornish stand-up comedian and 2019 champion Colin contestants in the 2025 championships were finalist Daniel Edison, Josh Faulkner, Mary Cross, Pauline Eyre and Stevie Vegas. Mr B Found, whose usual stand-up is more narrative, said: "I didn't expect to get into this competition, let alone win - so I'm pretty baffled."It's an absolutely crazy feeling to think back to Christmas when I was reading cracker jokes and thinking about how it would be fun to do this in front of an audience."I can't really believe it."The boxing ring and massive crowd really ups the ante. It stressed me out." Will B Found's favourite puns "My cousin lost his job at the clock factory; it's such a shame, as he was putting in all the hours.""Old McDonald has turned his farm into a massive corporation; he's the E-I-CEO.""I thought my dad was a smart guy, but I asked if he knew what an eclipse is, and he said, 'No, son'.""Whoever stole my copy of Microsoft Office, I will find out—you have my Word." Leicester Comedy Festival continues until 23 February, with more than 720 events across 80 Harris-Wakelam, chief executive of the festival charity Big Difference Company, said: "The UK Pun Championships are a highlight for everyone in the comedy community."The calibre of talent we saw this year was extraordinary."Puns are often seen as a niche comedy style, but their universal appeal is undeniable – they're easy to love, easy to remember, and easy to join in on."
