At the Leicester Comedy Festival

Representatives from the UK's live comedy industry will meet next month to discuss the state of the sector and review findings from a new national survey.

The second UK Live Comedy Sector AGM takes place as part of the Leicester Comedy Festival on February 4, organised by the Live Comedy Association and the Centre for Comedy Studies Research at Brunel University of London.

Dr Sharon Lockyer and Dr Simon Weaver from the centre will present their findings from the 2025 sector survey. Also speaking at the 2pm event are Barry Ferns from The Bill Murray and Angel Comedy in London, Nina Gilligan from Get Off Live Comedy, which tackles sexual assault on the circuit, and Dr Oliver Double from the British Stand-Up Comedy Archive at the University of Kent.

Jessica Toomey, chair of the LCA, said: 'We are absolutely delighted to be able to confirm the speakers for this event and look forward to welcoming colleagues who work in our sector. The significance of the event, and the publication of the survey report, was clear last year and resulted in us making progress in terms of our overall aim to get live comedy recognised by government.'

Dr Lockyer added: 'It's vital that we share the results of the second national live comedy survey in more detail, and present our report to people working in the sector.'

The report will be shared with government and policymakers to help identify what support is needed for the industry.

The LCA represents comedians, agents, managers, producers, technicians, festivals, promoters and club managers. The organisation is also producing Live Comedy Day on April 1 in partnership with BBC Radio 4 – the first ever national celebration of live comedy.

Tickets for the AGM at LCB Depot are available on a pay-what-you-want basis here.

Published: 13 Jan 2026