Laughing Horse

Laughing Horse is a British comedy promotion company and venue operator.

The company was established in the UK in 1998,[1] and now operates venues in Aldershot, Brighton, Cirencester, Hitchin, London (Brixton, Covent Garden, Lancaster Gate, Paddington), Manchester, St Neots, Thetford and Wyboston. They run three venues at Brighton Fringe, seventeen at Edinburgh Fringe and also have a presence at the Perth, Adelaide and Melbourne Fringes.[2] It is run by Alex Petty and Kevin McCarron.[3]

At Edinburgh, they have run the Free Edinburgh Fringe Festival since 2004.[3] At these shows, audiences do not have to buy tickets. They simply pay what they choose as a donation at the end of the show.

Since 2001, they have run the Laughing Horse New Act of the Year competition, which has been won by several famous British comedians at early stages of their career. For that reason, it has been called "a big deal to British newcomers".[4] Greg Davies won the competition on his fourth ever gig, and Russell Kane won it within the first six months of his career. Others to have won or made the final include Rhod Gilbert, Nina Conti, Jack Whitehall and Carl Donnelly.[5][6] The company also run comedy training courses.

New Act of the Year Winners

The Edinburgh Fringe

Laughing horse run numerous venues at The Edinburgh Fringe under the name The Free Festival[11] with acts including Joel Dommett, Paul McAffrey, Ahir Shah, and Sean Mcloughlin

References
  1. "Comedy". Laughing Horse. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  2. "Venues". Laughing Horse. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  3. Monks, Rebecca (11 August 2015). "Putting on a free show at the Fringe: The highs and lows". The List. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  4. O'Leary, Bernard (31 January 2012). "Laughing Horse New Act of the Year 2012 Quarter Finals review". The Skinny. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  5. "New Act Competition". Laughing Horse. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  6. "Past Years Winners and Runners-Up". Laughing Horse. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  7. "In Pictures: Laughing Horse New Act of the Year Final". London is Funny. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  8. "Laughing Horse New Act of 2013 Final". Chortle. 27 May 2013. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  9. "Laughing Horse New Act of the Year 2014 Final". Chortle. 2 December 2014. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  10. "Laughing Horse Comedian of the Year 2015". Chortle. 7 December 2015. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  11. Gibbon, Laughing Horse Comedy & Grubby. "The Free Edinburgh Fringe Festival: Free Comedy, Theatre, Cabaret and much more every August". The Free Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Retrieved 3 April 2019.


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