Leicester Comedy Festival: Coalville pupils re-writing history
An abandoned sweet shop in the mines, a mother frozen in glue and a giant in the clocktower are among the tales of landmarks in a Leicestershire town which have been re-written for laughs by children.Funny short stories about notable locations around Coalville have been created by school pupils at Broom Leys Primary School as part of Leicester Comedy Festival 2025. The tales can be read on a mobile phone app which will guide users along a trail around the landmarks, which include Snibston Colliery Park and the Century Theatre. Leicester Comedy Festival producer, Chris Butler, said "kids are really creative and really imaginative" so the idea made "complete sense".
More than 720 events will take place across 80 venues in Leicester and Leicestershire as part of the annual comedy festival. Broom Leys headteacher Robert Prior said he was approached about the project by organisers in September.He said it has inspired his pupils to enjoy learning "about the real history of Coalville as they go into Years 5 and 6" and the interactive trail will make children more "proud of the heritage of Coalville.""It has a really interesting history and people don't always know that about Coalville", he said.
The stories can be accessed via the 'Go Jauntly' mobile phone app and will be available during the festival.Mr Butler said the project was a part of the comedy festival because "no one's funnier than kids"."In creating the made up history, they've learnt a lot about the local history", he said.The comedy festival organiser added: "Kids love engaging with physical comedy, but also kids love to write, kids love to create, kids have great imaginations and writing is a big part of all comedy."
Sienna, who wrote a story about the Mother and Child Statue outside Belvoir Shopping Centre, said she knew about the real history of some local monuments, but thought their stories were "better" and "more funny."Maya, who decided Coalville Clocktower should be home to a giant, said "I learned that Coalville's really fun, more than I thought." Leicester Comedy Festival runs until 23 February 2025.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
11-02-2025
- BBC News
Leicester: Puns see comedian crowned UK's number one
Knockout punchlines delivered inside a boxing ring saw a new winner crowned in the 2025 UK Pun format of the contest was a royal pun-ble inside Leicester's De Montfort Hall, with six combatants testing their wittiest quips as part of the annual Leicester Comedy Festival contest on Monday was tasked with throwing a salvo of one-liners on themes posed by host Jason Byrne, with the noise of the crowd used to pick the B Found's wordplay saw him take the crown, with the punny funster "baffled" at the outcome, crediting a love of "cracker jokes". Mr B Found - whose full name is William Bicknell-Found - was presented with the Championship Belt designed by Cornish stand-up comedian and 2019 champion Colin contestants in the 2025 championships were finalist Daniel Edison, Josh Faulkner, Mary Cross, Pauline Eyre and Stevie Vegas. Mr B Found, whose usual stand-up is more narrative, said: "I didn't expect to get into this competition, let alone win - so I'm pretty baffled."It's an absolutely crazy feeling to think back to Christmas when I was reading cracker jokes and thinking about how it would be fun to do this in front of an audience."I can't really believe it."The boxing ring and massive crowd really ups the ante. It stressed me out." Will B Found's favourite puns "My cousin lost his job at the clock factory; it's such a shame, as he was putting in all the hours.""Old McDonald has turned his farm into a massive corporation; he's the E-I-CEO.""I thought my dad was a smart guy, but I asked if he knew what an eclipse is, and he said, 'No, son'.""Whoever stole my copy of Microsoft Office, I will find out—you have my Word." Leicester Comedy Festival continues until 23 February, with more than 720 events across 80 Harris-Wakelam, chief executive of the festival charity Big Difference Company, said: "The UK Pun Championships are a highlight for everyone in the comedy community."The calibre of talent we saw this year was extraordinary."Puns are often seen as a niche comedy style, but their universal appeal is undeniable – they're easy to love, easy to remember, and easy to join in on."
BBC News
10-02-2025
- BBC News
Leicester Comedy Festival: Coalville pupils re-writing history
An abandoned sweet shop in the mines, a mother frozen in glue and a giant in the clocktower are among the tales of landmarks in a Leicestershire town which have been re-written for laughs by short stories about notable locations around Coalville have been created by school pupils at Broom Leys Primary School as part of Leicester Comedy Festival 2025. The tales can be read on a mobile phone app which will guide users along a trail around the landmarks, which include Snibston Colliery Park and the Century Theatre. Leicester Comedy Festival producer, Chris Butler, said "kids are really creative and really imaginative" so the idea made "complete sense". More than 720 events will take place across 80 venues in Leicester and Leicestershire as part of the annual comedy festival. Broom Leys headteacher Robert Prior said he was approached about the project by organisers in said it has inspired his pupils to enjoy learning "about the real history of Coalville as they go into Years 5 and 6" and the interactive trail will make children more "proud of the heritage of Coalville.""It has a really interesting history and people don't always know that about Coalville", he said. The stories can be accessed via the 'Go Jauntly' mobile phone app and will be available during the Butler said the project was a part of the comedy festival because "no one's funnier than kids"."In creating the made up history, they've learnt a lot about the local history", he comedy festival organiser added: "Kids love engaging with physical comedy, but also kids love to write, kids love to create, kids have great imaginations and writing is a big part of all comedy." Sienna, who wrote a story about the Mother and Child Statue outside Belvoir Shopping Centre, said she knew about the real history of some local monuments, but thought their stories were "better" and "more funny."Maya, who decided Coalville Clocktower should be home to a giant, said "I learned that Coalville's really fun, more than I thought." Leicester Comedy Festival runs until 23 February 2025.
BBC News
08-02-2025
- BBC News
Melton: Comedy night to showcase neurodiverse performers
A new venue at the Leicester Comedy Festival is to host an event to showcasing disabled and neurodiverse Skies Cafe in Melton, which creates opportunities for adults with learning disabilities, is one of 12 new venues and is the smallest space hosting a show at this year's Sunny Skies Comedy Showcase will be held on Tuesday at 18:00 GMT, before the venue hosts its Stilton Silliness Bingo Night on 15 February at 19: Stacey, the venue's operations manager, said the team was "excited" to bring the festival out of the city and into the county. The comedy showcase will be "an inclusive, accessible night of comedy", she said, with some of the adults from the cafe performing for the first time. "We've got lots of knock-knock jokes, but we've also got some skits and drama, quite a bit of poetry as well," she told the said she hoped to fit 20 to 25 people in the venue for the "intimate" gig."We just wanted to make it happen in whatever way we can," Ms Stacey said."So we'll be moving some tables around and making sure we fit everyone bingo night will "show off Melton's heritage" and includes cheesy puns, prizes, jokes and actual cheese sold at the cafe. 'So many barriers' When asked why she wanted to be part of the festival, Ms Stacey said: "I've been to the Leicester Comedy Festival for years."I live near the city centre, and I was really kind of saddened that a lot of the people in the community around us in Melton had never really heard of it."But also for a lot of adults with a learning disability, it's really hard to get out and attend these festivals."Transport's an issue, getting support in the evening. And, you know, there are so many barriers."And we really just wanted to break that down and give the guys an opportunity to be part of the festival and to showcase their talent." Additional reporting by BBC Radio Leicester
