Dave’s Leicester Comedy Festival (formerly known as The Leicester Comedy Festival’) is back for 2016 and is set to showcase over 780 events in more than 60 venues across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.

The Festival kicks off on Wednesday 3^rd February and runs until Sunday 21^st February.

There are some exclusive events set for this year which include The UK Pun Championships, Odd Couples, The Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year and aslo Q&A’s with Johnny Vegas and Nicholas Parsons.

Tickets are now on sale for all events throughout the festival.

History of Leicester Comedy Festival

The Leicester Comedy Festival started back in 1994 where there was 40 events shown at 23 venues around Leicestershire over 7 days. The first festival attracted an audience of 5,000 and received a modest amount of media attention.

Since the first show, the festival has got bigger and better each year, and has regularly featured some of Britain’s biggest names in stand-up comedy such as Jack Dee, Johnny Vegas, Jimmy Carr, Frankie Boyle and Russell Brand.

The second Comedy Festival held the first ‘Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year’ award, which continues to take place each year. The first award in 1995 was won by Stevie Knuckles but other winners have included Johnny Vegas (1997) and Josh Widdicombe (2010).

By 2007, the festival had grown so big that the ‘Best of Leicester Comedy Festival’ went on tour around Derby, Nottingham and Leicestershire, which saw its audience and media attention grow hugely.

A big highlight in the history of the festival was back in 2001 when a letter was received from The Queen wishing everyone involved good luck.

In 2012, the festival partnered with the TV channel Dave, which resulted in a slight change in the name. It is now known as ‘Dave’s Leicester Comedy Festival.

Last year’s festival (2015) saw a whopping 630 events shown in 47 venues. The festival was even extended by two days for the first time ever and ran for 19 days. A highlight of the festival was a tribute to the late Sire Norman Wisdom OBE, who was a festival patron.

The Leicester Comedy Festival boast great line-ups of comedians throughout the last 20 years. Here is a selection of those who have featured at the festival:

Jo Brand
Andy Parsons
Michael McIntyre
Jack Dee
Sarah Millican
Micky Flanagan
Rory Bremner
Russell Brand
The Mighty Boosh
Alan Davies
Dara O’Brain
Simon Pegg
Jeremy Hardy
Lee Mack
Harry Hill
Johnny Vegas
Julian Clary
Graham Norton
Jimmy Carr
Frankie Boyle
Stephen K Amos
Jason Manford
Jon Richardson
Andi Osho

 

Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year

This year’s Comedian of the Year takes place on Saturday 20^th February at 7:30pm at The Y. Tickets are £16.

Over the years, over 170 comedians have entered the competition. Previous winners include Steve Knuckles (first winner in 1995), Johnny Vegas (1997 winner), Jason Manford (2000 winner), Rhod Gilbert (2003 winner), Sean Walsh (2009 winner) and Romesh Ranganathan (2013 winner).

Some highlights of the competition include Jimmy Carr performing a rap when he entered in 2001. The Leicester Mercury reporting “we think we’ll be hearing more from him in the future” after John Bishop entered in 2001. And Leicester based comedian Matt Hollins beating Russell Kane in 2003.

Leicester Comedy Festival Tickets

Tickets are now available for the Comedy Festival and you can buy them through the official ticketing partner Curve Tickets here.

If you have any problems booking tickets online, or if you have any questions regarding tickets, please email tickets@curvetheatre.co.uk.

You can also purchase tickets at The Curve box office which is open Monday – Saturday from 10:00am until 8:00pm. In addition, tickets can be purchased from The Highcross between the hours of 9:30am and 7:00pm (11:00am – 5:00pm on Sunday).

The prices for tickets vary for each event and some events are free.

On each day of the festival, there are a limited number of 2-4-1 tickets available from midday. These are available to buy at The Highcross.

Leicester Comedy Festival venues

Below is a list of all the venues where the Festival’s events will be held:

Leicester City Centre

• Attenborough Arts Centre

Address: Lancaster Road, Leicester, LE1 7HA

Tel: 0116 2522455

Website: www.attenborougharts.com

View on map here.

• Barley Mow

Address: 149 Granby Street, Leicester, LE1 6FE

Tel: 0116 2557722

View on map here.

• BBC Radio Leicester

Address: 9 St. Nicholas Place, Leicester, LE1 5LB

Tel: 0116 2516688

View on map here.

• Bob’s Blundabus

Address: Parked outside ‘The Criterion’ – 44 Millstone Lane, Leicester

Website: www.blundabus.com

View on map here.

• Central Baptist Church

Address: Charles Street, Leicester, LE1 1LA

Tel: 0116 2552520

Website: www.central-baptist.org.uk

View on map here.

• Chutney Ivy

Address: 41 Halford Street, Leicester, LE1 1TR

Tel: 0116 2511889

Website: www.chutneyivy.com

View on map here.

• The Curve

Address: 60 Rutland Street, Leicester, LE1 1SB

Tel: 0116 2423560

Website: www.curveonline.co.uk

View on map here.

• De Montfort Hall

Address: Granville Road, Leicester, LE1 7RU

Tel: 0116 2333111

Website: www.demontforthall.co.uk

View on map here.

• Duffy’s Bar

Address: 18 Pocklingtons Walk, Leicester, LE1 6BU

Tel: 0116 2553316

View on map here.

• Firebug

Address: 1 Millstone Lane, Leicester, LE1 5JN

Tel: 0116 2551228

Website: www.firebugbar.co.uk

View on map here.

• Grays @ LCB Depot

Address: 31 Rutland Street, Leicester, LE1 1RE

Tel: 0116 2616800

View on map here.

• Heroes @ The Criterion

Address: 44 Millstone Lane, Leicester, LE1 5JN

Tel: 0116 2625418

Website: www.criterionvenue.co.uk

View on map here.

• Hugh Aston Building

Address: De Montfort University, The Newark, Leicester, LE2 7BY

Tel: 0116 2506077

View on map here.

• Juke Box

Address: 35 St Nicholas Place, Leicester, LE1 4LD

View on map here.

• Just the Tonic at Hansom Hall

Address: Wellington Street, Leicester, LE1 6HL

Tel: 0115 9100009

View on map here.

• King Richard III Visitor Centre

Address: 4a St Martins, Leicester, LE1 5DB

Tel: 0300 300 0900

Website: www.kriii.com

View on map here.

• Maiyango

Address: 13-21 St Nicholas Place, Leicester, LE1 4LD

Tel: 0116 2518898

Website: www.maiyango.com

View on map here.

• Manhattan 34

Address: 34 Rutland Street, Leicester, LE1 1RD

Tel: 0116 2628855

Website: www.manhattan34.com

View on map here.

• Peter Pizzeria

Address: 9 Welford Road, Leicester, Le1 6ZH

Tel: 0116 2545333

Website: www.peterpizzeria.co.uk

View on map here.

• Phoenix

Address: 4 Midland Street, Leicester, LE1 1TG

Tel: 0116 2422800

Website: www.phoenix.org.uk

View on map here.

• Ramada Encore

Address: 84-90 Charles Street, Leicester, LE1 1GE

Tel: 0116 3660150

View on map here.

• Regent College Studio

Address: Regent College, Regent Road, Leicester, LE1 7LW

Tel: 0116 2554629

View on map here.

• Soft Touch Arts

Address: 50 New Walk, Leicester, LE1 6TF

Tel: 0116 2552592

Website: www.soft-touch.org.uk

View on map here.

• St Martins Coffee Shop

Address: 2-6 St Martins Walk, Leicester, LE1 5DG

Tel: 0116 2512879

View on map here.

• The Belmont Hotel

Address: 20 De Montfort Square, Leicester

Tel: 0116 2544773

Website: www.belmonthotel.co.uk

View on map here.

• The Cookie

Address: 68 High Street, Leicester, LE1 5YP

Tel: 0116 2531212

Website: www.thecookieleicester.co.uk

View on map here.

• The Cookie Comedy Club @ Globe

Address: 43 Silver Street, Leicester, LE1 5EU

Tel: 0116 2539492

View on map here.

• The Exchange Bar

Address: 50 Cultural Quarter, Leicester, LE1 1RD

Tel: 0116 2513434

Website: www.exchangeleicester.com

View on map here.

• The Guildhall

Address: Guildhall Lane, Leicester, LE1 5FQ

Tel: 0116 2532569

View on map here.

• The Little Theatre

Address: Dover Street, Leicester, Le1 6PW

Tel: 0116 2542266

Website: www.thelittletheatre.net

View on map here.

• The Musician

Address: 42 Crafton Street, Leicester, LE1 2DE

Tel: 0116 2510080

Website: www.themusicianpub.co.uk

View on map here.

• The Regent Sports and Social Club

Address: 102 Regent Road, Leicester, LE1 7DA

Tel: 0116 2238006

Website: www.regentleicester.co.uk

View on map here.

• The Soundhouse

Address: 28 Southampton Street, Leicester, LE1 1SJ

Website: www.soundhouseleicester.co.uk

View on map here.

• The Y

Address: 7 East Street, Leicester, LE1 6EY

Tel: 0116 2556507

Website: www.leicesterymca.co.uk

View on map here.

• Trinity Chapel

Address: The Gateway, Leicester, LE2 7DR

Tel: 0116 2506090

View on map here.

 

Leicestershire

• The Black Dog

Address: 23 London Road, Oadby, LE2 5DL

Tel: 0116 2102479

View on map here.

• The Black Horse

Address: 65 Narrow Lane, Leicester, LE2 8NA

Tel: 0116 2837225

View on map here.

• Church of the Martyrs

Address: Westcotes Drive, Leicester, LE3 0QT

Tel: 0116 2555921

View on map here.

• LOROS Hospice

Address: Groby Road, Leicester, LE3 9QE

Tel: 0116 2318431

View on map here.

• Newfoundpool Working Men’s Club

Address: 55 Beatrice Road, Leicester, LE3 9FJ

Tel: 0116 2627230

View on map here.

• O2 Academy

Address: Percy Gee Building, University Road, Leicester, LE1 7RH

Tel: 0116 2231111

Website: www.o2academyleicester.co.uk

View on map here.

• Rutland County Museum

Address: Catmos Street, Oakham, Rutland, LE15 6HW

Tel: 01572 758440

View on map here.

• Stamford Arms

Address: 2 Leicester Road, Leicester, LE6 0DJ

Tel: 0116 2875616

View on map here.

• Strugess Suzuki

Address: Aylestone Road, Leicester, LE2 7NQ

Tel: 0116 3660342

Website: www.sturgessgroup.co.uk

View on map here.

• The Cricketers

Address: 1 Grace Road, Leicester, LE2 8AD

View on map here.

• The Fairfield Inn

Address: Gloucester Crescent, South Wigston, LE18 4YE

Tel: 0116 2786937

View on map here.

• The Rose and Crown

Address: 45 Main Street, Thurnby, LE7 9PJ

Tel: 0116 2419075

View on map here.

• The Royal Oak

Address: 35 Main Street, Kirby Muxloe, Leicester, LE9 2AN

Tel: 0116 2393166

View on map here.

• The Star and Garter

Address: 114 Leicester Road, Wigston, LE18 1DS

Tel: 0116 3191626

View on map here.

• The West End Centre

Address: Andrews Street, Leicester, LE3 5PA

Tel: 07739186948

View on map here.

• Upstairs at The Western

Address: 70 Western Road, Leicester, LE3 0GA

Tel: 0116 2545287

Website: www.steamin-billy.co.uk

View on map here.

• Warning Zone

Address: 30 Frog Island, Leicester, Le3 5AG

Tel: 0116 2629739

Website: www.warningzone.org.uk

View on map here.

 

Melton Mowbray

• 54A King Street Coffee Shop

Address: 54a King Street, Melton Mowbray, LE13 1XB

Tel: 01664 480234

View on map here.

• Melton Theatre

Address: Asfordby Road, Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, LE13 0HJ

Tel: 01664 851111

Website: www.meltontheatre.co.uk

View on map here.

• More Coffee Co

Address: 16 Market Place, Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, Le13 1XD

Tel: 01664 560310

View on map here.

• The Noels Arms

Address: 31 Burton Street, Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, LE13 1AE

Tel: 01664 562363

Website: www.thenoelarmsmeltonmowbray.co.uk

View on map here.

Loughborough

• Echos

Address: 5 Biggin Stree, Loughborough, LE11 1UA

Tel: 01509 213887

Website: www.echosnightclub.co.uk

View on map here.

• Holywell House

Address: 68A Leicester Road, Loughborough, LE11 2AG

Tel: 01509 731894

Website: www.holywellguesthouse.co.uk

View on map here.

• Loughborough College Arts Academy

Address: Radmoor Road, Loughborough, LE11 3BT

Tel: 01509 618375

View on map here.

• Loughborough Community, Library and Learning Centre

Address: Granby Stree, Loughborough, LE11 3DZ

Tel: 0119 3052420

Email: loughboroughlibrary@leic.gov.uk

View on map here.

• Loughborough Town Hall

Address: Market Place, Loughborough, LE11 3EB

Tel: 01509 231914

Website: www.loughboroughtownhall.co.uk

View on map here.

• The Swan in the Rushes

Address: 21 The Rushes, Loughborough, LE11 5BE

Tel: 01509 217014

View on map here.