Lamp x Leicester Comedy Festival

Lamp have partnered up with Big Difference Company to work on a project that we hope will contribute to positively impacting mental health.

Big Difference Company are a Leicester based charity, and are the brains behind the producing of the Leicester Comedy Festival. After growing in size due to the success of the festival, they have continued to commit to an array of life changing schemes and projects. Their aims specifically for the festival are to support new and emerging talent, celebrate British comedy, and support comedians, promoters and venues to put on the best shows and events.

In relation to the comedy festival, our aim in collaborating with Big Difference Company is to produce a mental health toolkit of sorts, that provides support to those helping make the festival run smoothly, particularly, the volunteers, and comedians. We believe the creation of this to be important as ‘support’, is a key word for both Lamp and Big Difference Company regarding the type of service we both provide. Additionally, ‘festival fatigue’ affects many mentally. In an environment where socialising and networking are seen as being the norm, doing this regularly can take its toll on an individual.

We therefore decided that together with Big Difference Company, producing a resource to support comedians and volunteers and their mental health, in a range of venues in Leicester, would be beneficial. When also thinking about the relationship between mental health and comedy, comedy can play a vital role for many in being a great way to approach the topic, and help individuals to cope while living with a mental health issue. In relation to this, we are also planning to hold a Lamp Comedy Show during the festival, on the 12th February 2020. So watch this space for announcements around that event!

Aside from us, Big Difference Company will also be consulting an array of other organisations for this mental health project. These include: DMU Local, Equity (a union for performers), The Samaritans, and Time to Change. It is fantastic for us as a local charity to be involved in a project with well known charities and organisations, to help spread awareness around mental health issues.

As we are currently in the development phase of the resource, please keep an eye out for updates around this, as we are very excited about this, and we hope you are too!