Laurels and Felt Nowt have both been selected to receive £5,000 from BBC Comedy to support their comedy outreach and inclusion projects.
The recipients of the comedy grants were announced by Jon Petrie at the BBC Comedy Festival in Cardiff on Thursday the 25th of May. The grants are an opportunity for BBC Comedy to increase engagement with companies and organisations that want to support growth and access opportunities in comedy.
Laurels, a popular entertainment venue in Whitley Bay, North Tyneside, will be using their BBC Comedy grant to help move comedy talent from lower socio-economic backgrounds off social media and into larger-scale development.
Felt Nowt plan to use its grant to extend its programme to focus on workshops for LGBTQ+ comedy performers in the region. They said: “We were delighted to receive this grant, it will help us on our mission to bring more comedy to the region and we are excited to find some exciting new comedians from underrepresented communities”
Lisa Laws, Head of Talent and Development at North East Screen said: “I’m really excited to see what Laurels and Felt Nowt can bring to the region’s emerging comedy scene supporting talent and audiences to imagine possibilities for crossing over from theatre to screen. They are both already doing some amazing work, and I looking forward to seeing what’s next.”
