A collection of lost photographs have been found by a group of volunteers working alongside Leicester Comedy Festival. The group, who meet each month to archive and catalogue digital photos collected since the festival began in 1994, have discovered images previously thought lost. The images, all taken at Leicester Comedy Festival, include pictures of Alan Carr, Chris McCausland, Nicholas Parsons (pictured at Leicester Cathedral), Johnny Vegas (pictured in 1997 at the Y Theatre) )and festival patron Tony Slattery (pictured at the Phoenix Arts in 1997).
The Leicester Comedy Festival Archive Group, which has recently received funding from Leicestershire Archaeological & Historical Society (LAHS) Public Heritage Fund, has been meeting since the summer of 2024 and aims to catalogue the thousands of images stored by Leicester Comedy Festival.
The festival is hosting an Archive Day as part of Leicester Comedy Festival 2025 and members of the public are invited to attend to see a selection of items stored as part of the collection. The day will take place on Saturday 22nd February and further information is available by visiting https://comedy-festival.co.uk/events/beyond-a-joke-leicester-comedy-festival-archive-day/
The library of images includes pictures of comedians performing on stage, as well as images of festival audiences and venues, many of which were vital parts of Leicester’s cultural scene but no longer exist. Once the collection has been catalogued it will be included in the main Festival archive which is stored at De Montfort University as part of their special collections. It is believed that the entire archive is one of the most comprehensive collections of British comedy and helps to preserve UK comedy over more than 30 years.
The archive group are seeking new members to join and volunteer their time to help catalogue the pictures. Leicester Comedy Festival Founder Geoff Rowe, who set up the group, said “I’m thrilled the group have already discovered photos that I thought had been lost. As we painstakingly go through all the digital images, and rename them, who knows what else we might find? The bunch of volunteers are doing an incredible job but there is always room for more so I would encourage people to get in touch if they want to help. The main criteria is to have some basic knowledge of comedians who have performed at Leicester Comedy Festival over the last 30 years.”
Helen Sharp, Chair of the LAHS Public Heritage Fund said “the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society’s Public Heritage Fund is delighted to be able to support the Leicester Comedy Festival Archive Group with a grant to assist the volunteer project to catalogue the Festival’s digital archive. It will be fantastic to see the archive of the UK’s biggest Comedy Festival preserved and included in the De Montfort University’s archive and be made publicly accessible. The Society recognises the huge importance of the Festival to the city’s cultural scene since the 1990s.
Once completed, the entire archive will be available for students, academic and comedy fans from across the UK to visit free of charge.
