Leicester Comedy Festival has formed a partnership with Octopus Energy which will support comedians from across the UK, provide entertainment for employees and make a donation to support the Festival, which is produced by registered charity Big Difference Company.

UK comedians will join the firm’s weekly virtual all-hands meeting to provide some light relief from lockdown measures for its employees in Leicester and the rest of the Octopus team. The Leicester operation is its major base outside London with 230+ employees working from the city centre Colton Square offices before lockdown.

The comedians, including Edinburgh Fringe sell-out comedian Eshaan Akbar, Leicester Comedy Festival award nominee Scott Bennett, Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee Olga Koch and current UK Pun Champion Adele Cliff, will remain socially distant and attend the meeting via video call to entertain 700+ employees across the UK and beyond. The first stand-up session took place on 7th August and will continue every Friday throughout August 2020.

Aside from giving work to local comedians, Octopus Energy will also be making a donation to support next year’s Leicester Comedy Festival. It will take place from February 3 to 21 and, depending on regulations and government advice, see live events alongside a virtual programme. More than 1,500 comedians took part in this year’s festival. 

Rebecca Dibb-Simkin, Product and Marketing Director at Octopus Energy, comments: “The last few months have been tough for all of us, but the arts are among the professions that were hit the hardest. We are delighted to be able to support comedians and performers whilst giving our colleagues a good laugh on a Friday - it’s a perfect win-win situation. We hope these first few virtual stand-up sessions will help Leicester Comedy Festival in preparation for future online performances.”  

Geoff Rowe, Director of Leicester Comedy Festival, says:“This support from Octopus Energy is fantastic and we’re delighted to be working so closely with the team. The project will hopefully entertain staff and also provide much needed financial support for our comedians and Leicester Comedy Festival 2021. In this new world, we’re all having to find new ways of doing things, and this opportunity is a great way for us to develop ways in which we work with businesses.”