The annual Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year Competition, which has taken place each February since 1995, has been confirmed to take place on Saturday 5th June 2021 at its traditional home, The Y Theatre, Leicester. The competition, which has helped to discover comedy talent for more than 25 years, was postponed due to the Covid national lockdown and wasn’t able take place as part of Leicester Comedy Festival 2021.
Producers have today announced the confirmed nominees and tickets are now on sale for the socially distanced show from www.comedy-festival.co.uk
The competition is unusual in that comedians are not able to directly apply to take part. Comedians are nominated by promoters from across the UK and this year the nominees are:
Arielle Souma
Christian Jegard
Dan Tiernan
Hassan Dervish
Jessie Nixon
Joseph Emslie
Liz Guterbock
Nina Gilligan
The show will be hosted by comedian Eshaan Akbar (pictured).
Geoff Rowe, Founding Director of Leicester Comedy Festival, said: “the competition is always one of the key highlights of Leicester Comedy Festival and we were gutted when it became clear we couldn’t produce it back in February. We wanted to make sure we continued the event, so we didn’t miss a year. It feels great to be back, confirming line ups and producing a live show after all this time. Traditionally the Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year sells out in record time and we look forward to welcoming a socially distanced audience back to The Y for the competition.”
The nominating promoters this year are Jessica Toomey (Frog & Bucket), Toby Foster (Last Laugh Comedy), Jill Edwards (Jill Edwards Comedy Workshops), Barry Ferns (Angel Comedy) & Ed Strong (Chuckle Busters). Over the last 25 years, nominees and winners of the competition have included Andi Oshi, Johnny Vegas, Greg Davies, Romesh Ranganathan, Rosie Jones, Simon Amstell, Reg D Hunter, Suzi Ruffell, Lucy Beaumont, Josh Widdicombe, Jimmy Carr, Mitch Benn, Rhod Gilbert, Kate Lucas &, in 2020, the winner was Eric Rushton.
