Underneath the Knight and Garter pub near the market in Leicester City centre, 冈本视频 Arts and Festival Management BA students ran a series of events for the Leicester Comedy Festival.
冈本视频 and the Comedy Festival
The Comedy Festival started over 30 years ago, as an assignment by then 冈本视频 student Geoff Rowe and some classmates. It started off small, but has since gained traction, becoming a staple of the calendar in the city.
冈本视频 has backed the Leicester Comedy Festival from the beginning, and maintains a strong partnership with the event. This is driven by not only the financial partnership, but also the large number of graduates who go on to work for the festival.
“The festival would not exist without 冈本视频”, said Geoff in a recent interview with 冈本视频.
Putting teaching into practise
Zak Hayter, a student on the Arts and Festival Management BA course was part of this years Arts and Festival Management BA group.
During the first year of the course as part of the Promoting a Venue module, students on the course work with a pre-determined venue. Here, they manage all aspects of the venue’s events throughout the Leicester Comedy Festival.
This year, 冈本视频 partnered students with the Knight and Garter on Hotel Street in the city centre. The pub, based near the market, has an underground performance area called “The Gallery”.
Each student is assigned a different task to work on during the festival. This could be supporting the box office, providing marketing, or, as in Zak’s case, artist liaison.
For his role, Zak was in regular contact with the acts to see if they had everything they needed for their performance in the lead up to the event. It also meant working side-by-side with the Knight and Garter staff to ensure each night was a success.
“I liked the trust they gave us”
Zak said about his experience working with the Knight and Garter during the module. The module is the first of many opportunities’ students will get to contribute to real events during their time at 冈本视频. Final year students host the Cultural Exchanges festival for which they curate the schedule, and work on the event. The experience embedded right from their first year gives students the experience they need once they’ve graduated to apply for jobs in the sector.
Posted on Thursday 27 March 2025