An evening at Leicester Comedy Festival - ''Thank God It's FRIDAY!''

It's been a long time since I went to any kind of gig or event.

Covid had us in our little shells, and sadly it cancelled our last Comedy Festival. But the time came recently when I got to see some great stand-up talent at Brewdog. One of Leicester’s local watering holes for some, if not the fruitiest ales available in the city. Which indeed, did help wet my whistle for a night of laughs courtesy of Leicester Comedy Festival.

The talent on show that night was for “Thank God its Friday! – The early show”, particularly I saw the last of these weekly events. On the February 24, that featured Garrett Millerick who hosted the evening and other comedians with smaller slots such as Stephen Buchanan and Sikisa.

https://comedy-festival.co.uk/event/thank-god-its-friday-the-early-show/

What I didn't expect on the night in question was a heckler walking out when he couldn't take some of his own medicine. Do not ever give a comedian free material for them to comedically insult your every bodily cell. It won’t end well buddy.

Yep, white men can't talk dirty. At least according to Sikisa who that night transformed a heckle of abuse about her weight and sex life into a ricochet of jokes about his failure to seduce his own wife. It set the tone of the evening when all said and done. Struggling to get his coat as she subtly sassed him moment by moment, while he waddled to the exit was a tense but smirk inducing watch. That kind of awkward dry humour is special, and one that only a confident comedian can showcase with ease.

We saw four comedians total ranging from a Scotsman discussing Glasgow being the central of knife crime but great for veganism. Violent tofu was his go to pun. An Indian comedian who joked about being the brown Jeffrey Dahmer before debating the bus ride home, as not many of us laughed. A black feminist with insane amounts of white focused jokes. Also mentioning that the use of Uber Eats as a free dating site can end quite well. All of this cut up between a main presenter who advised the crowd likely needed more lines of cocaine to enjoy an early 6pm stand-up routine.

He wasn't wrong there but who can afford hard drugs with the cost of living in 2023. I personally enjoyed an earlier comedy gig, it was a worthwhile night of laughter and my first real jaunt at seeing live pub comedy. Something that Leicester comedy festival is perfect for year on year.

These guys really tried hard to get some laughs, and while they didn't always land. The warm atmosphere, subtle lighting, and a clear focus on adapting negatives in the world and reforming them into positive self-deprecating jokes got a good few chuckles out of me. As it did with the audience, and that is all you can ask for on a small stage slot. That the comedians make you forget your own troubles for an hour or two. They succeeded.

A fun night all round that added to a festival celebrating 30 years of belly laughter and side-splitting humour. I would go again. Even if just to see more drunk hecklers get their just deserts.

By John Perry