A COMEDIAN who is set to perform at this year’s Leicester Comedy Festival, will be donating all the profits from his appearance to a mental health charity, after being affected by suicide.
Henry Churney is one of many performers who is set to bring laughs to the city next month when this year’s comedy festival takes place between February 2-20.
Performances will take place at 64 venues across Leicester and Leicestershire, and Mr Churney has pledged to donate all profits made from his appearances to ‘YoungMinds’ – a charity which helps young people suffering with their mental health.
His decision comes after he was affected by a a suicide attempt, made by his best friend’s son back in August 2020.
“At the age of just 21, Oliver attempted suicide and passed away in July 2021 in hospital, never recovering from the attempt,” he revealed.
“That same week I heard about a 16 and a 17 year old boy and girl who attempted suicide but are now back at home recovering. I thought I needed to do something to help what seems to be a growing problem.
“Oliver had connections with the mental health organisation YoungMinds, which does excellent work in helping young people with mental health issues, and are happy to help me in my venture to help them help others,” he added.
Mr Churney, who is from Liverpool, will be performing at The Globe on Leicester’s Silver Street on February 9, with the show starting at 3pm. A later performance will take place at the Kayal on Granby Street at 8pm, with his show involving a mixture of improv, character and musical comedy.
Other performers who will grace the stage during this year’s Leicester Comedy Festival, include Rosie Jones, a comedian with cerebral palsy, who describes her brand of comedy as “slightly dark” and a “little bit cheeky,” Ahir Star, who is known for his “sharp, intellectual brand of stand up”, and Canadian Katherine Ryan, who is one of the biggest names in comedy, drawing laughs with her sharp tongued approach.
The festival is the UK’s longest running and biggest comedy festival. Starting in 1994, this year’s event will be the 29th year that it has taken place.
The UK Kids Comedy Festival is set to run alongside the main event.
For further details, visit: www.comedy-festival.co.uk
