Press clippings

Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year 2022 finalists announced

Nick Elleray, Hayley Ellis, Louise Leigh, Lucila San Martin, John Meagher, Firuz Ozari, Ashish Suri and Sam Williams will compete in the Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year 2022 final. The comedians involved in Silver Stand Up, UK Pun Championships and Union JACK Radio's Circuit Breakers have also been announced.

British Comedy Guide, 17th December 2021

Beat The Frog World Series Final 2021 review

This year's 'world series' final of Manchester's Beat The Frog new act challenge was a game of two halves. Before the interval the crowd were subdued, not even giving compere Danny McLoughlin's quick-witted ad libs the laughs they deserved; afterwards they were reenergised, and the comedians sharper too. Which is cause and which is effect is open to debate.

Steve Bennett, Chortle, 2nd November 2021

Leicester Comedy Festival to publish All Puns Blazing joke book

Leicester Comedy Festival is publishing a celebratory book of puns. All Puns Blazing: The Best British Knockout Jokes will be published in November.

British Comedy Guide, 16th August 2021

Union JACK Radio to broadcast live from Leicester Comedy Festival

DAB radio station Union JACK is to broadcast multiple shows live from Leicester Comedy Festival, including the Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year competition.

British Comedy Guide, 3rd February 2020

Review: UK Pun Championships Final

#UKPunday, founded by the Leicester Comedy Festival, has become a fixture in the social media calender. This year wordplay-based tweets notched up over 100 million impressions during the day. That's a lorra lorra lols. And sometimes during the final of the UK Pun Championships one did feel the best gags had already been hashtag cracked.

Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 13th February 2018

Review: Old Comedian Of The Year 2017

Of all the stand-up competitions around - and there are many - Leicester Square Theatre's Old Comedian Of The Year has a point of difference. Not so much the age cut-off - only over-35s need apply, which still leaves a pretty wide field - but the fact that entrants must have been going for at least five years... demanding the comedians have achieved a certain level of experience, without a level of recognition.

Steve Bennett, Chortle, 30th May 2017

Review: Old Comedian of the Year

If the idea of The Old Comedian of the Year final conjures up images of Zimmer frames and senior moments nothing could be further from the truth.

Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 30th May 2017

Old Comedian of the Year finalists announced

The line-up has been announced for this year's Old Comedian of the Year final.

Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 11th May 2017

Overlooking 'Catastrophe' would be a disaster

The cultural barrier between Delaney's bluff Yankee optimism and Horgan's curled-stiff-upper-lip Irish cynicism leads to some great comedic sparks, but the two mesh surprisingly well together because, deep down, neither actor nor character have any interest in being anything less than honest.

Rob Thomas, Madison.com, 22nd June 2015

Share this page