Festival offers stage time for aspiring comedians
Jimmy Hill PhotographyAspiring comedians from across the West Midlands will get a chance to shine at the Rik Mayall Comedy Festival through a BBC scheme.
Mayall died 12 years ago at 56, and the event celebrates his legacy in his hometown of Droitwich Spa, Worcestershire.
For this year's event, on 29 and 30 May, there will be two stages hosted by BBC Hereford and Worcester, showcasing talent from across the region who have submitted their work via BBC Upload.
"We love showcasing the stand-up stars of the future on the radio every single week - so to be able to put two stages on, featuring the West Midlands' finest talent, in front of the amazing audiences of Droitwich, is really exciting," said host Nina das Gupta.
"It's a real honour to be part of the Rik Mayall Comedy Festival," she added. He was an icon in comedy, a true Worcestershire legend and left an incredible legacy."
Upload is a BBC platform to which people can upload any kind of content, from audio and video to text and images, including comedy sketches and poems.
Local teams watch, read or listen to uploads, and content that catches their attention is put out on air or on digital platforms.
Big names at the festival include Nigel Planer, Alexei Sayle Phil Ellis, Harriet Kemsley, and Rachel Fairburn.
Local performers across the weekend - outside of the Upload stages - include Northfield's Lindsey Santoro; Lorna Rose Treen from Redditch; Alexander Bennett from Shrewsbury, Bromsgrove's Max Ponsonby; Kane & Abel from Shrewsbury, and Sham Zaman from Birmingham.
Upload stage applications open
The Upload stages will be located at the Old Cock Inn on 29 May, and in the town centre on 30 May.
The BBC is still inviting people to apply for the chance to appear on the stages:
Jimmy Hill Photography"In the town centre, there'll be crowds in the street, there'll be a buzz, there'll be people wearing costumes from The Young Ones, all sorts of things," said Chris Broad, the festival's chair.
"Certainly on the weekends, there's a huge number of events going on in the town centre, you can wander around, you can see stuff in the high street going on, there's the stage that BBC Upload will be using."
He said the festival was 30 to 40 per cent bigger than last year, and encouraged people to try getting up on stage to perform.
"Just come and do it, even if it's just a few minutes," he said.
"We've got very appreciative audiences... even if not every joke lands, you'll still be appreciated - be brave, put your name forward and see what happens.
"The pub gig, I think it's going to be maximum 45, 50 in the audience, so it's not totally overwhelming - the outdoor one... there's a lot more people, but there'll just be a buzz about about the place, so it'll be very supportive as well."
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