Leicester Comedy Festival is a busy time in the city with so many shows to choose from we don’t know where to start. However, there’s one show that stands out as something just a little bit different, because returning this year is Naked Comedy! Yup, that’s literally comedy done in the nude, as Dave McGuckin from Jokes on Us told us when we caught up with him to find out more about the show.
Naked Comedy is happening at Manhattan 34 on Saturday 11 February and it’s all in the name of charity with funds being raised for LOROS. Read on to find out just what Dave had to say about it all.
So is Naked Comedy as naked as the name suggests?
The dictionary defines “Naked” (adjective) as:
1.(of a person or part of the body) without clothes.
2.(especially of feelings or behaviour) expressed openly; undisguised.
So, in terms of the dictionary definition? Yes, it’s exactly as it sounds.
Most comedians will probably turn up with some kind of silly gimmick to cover up their most “sensitive” areas… but it won’t necessarily stay there for their whole set.
How on earth has this come about?
During the 2015 Leicester Comedy Festival, local comedian and host of Proper Funny Comedy Jason Neale was doing an interview with DemonFM. When they invited questions from the public, fellow comedian and Jokes On Us co-founder Alex Hylton asked him if he’d ever do stand-up naked. Jason said he would do it if Alex did it.
Last year, they both did it; along with Lucy Thompson, Dan Nicholas and Jack Campbell, at the first ever Leicester Fridge Naked Comedy event. The show was a sell-out, raised hundreds of pounds for MIND and the crowd had an amazing time. So, here we are again!
Is there much demand from comedians to take part?
A couple of weeks ago, Alex tweeted that he had more requests from comedians wanting to perform at the show than we had sold tickets; and we’d sold quite a few tickets. I think he’s potentially got Naked Comedy line-ups for about 5 years.
How do audiences tend to react?
The audience last year was amazing. It’s incredible that we were able to get 70 people in there who were all so behind the idea. I think it’s probably a similar kind of support that you get from audiences at burlesque shows; both supportive of the daring act but also appreciative of the actual comedy as well.
As a comedian do you think being naked affects your routine?
I won’t be able to fully answer this until the day after, but it’s definitely going to add a new dimension to consider. I’ve had a pretty interesting journey with my own body over the last 18 months, which is really why I’m doing this, so the routine I do on this night will probably reflect that. And, y’know, everything’s a little more difficult to focus on with a breeze around your undercarriage.
What happens if the crowd start to heckle about your bits?
Usually when I’m getting heckled I invite the heckler to come on stage and see if they can do it better than me, so I can’t see any reason why that won’t work for this one too!
Which comedian would you most like to see perform naked?
After stage-managing last year’s show, I can honestly say I don’t ever want to actually see another comedian perform naked ever again, frankly. However, I am fairly certain that Rob Delaney (comedian and star of C4’s “Catastrophe”) would leap at the chance to tell jokes with his balls out.
Sum up why someone should go and watch Naked Comedy in 10 words…
You’ll never see anything like it, and it’s for charity.
Where is it, when is it, how much is it?
Naked Comedy is at Manhattan34 on Saturday the 11th at 11:30pm (that’s 23:30). Tickets are £8 and all proceeds will be going to LOROS as part of their Laughter With LOROS campaign. You MUST have a ticket to get in, there will be no tickets available on the door.
Tickets available RIGHT HERE.
Read our full Leicester Comedy Festival Preview here.