Quantum Leopard is a comedy night in London that is hosted and organised by James Ross. It was created in 2015 and has won multiple Chortle Awards. A pay-what-you-want show, it has a mixture of professional and semi-professional comedians and new acts.

History

Quantum Leopard was founded in 2015 by James Ross as a reaction to comedy gigs where performers picked on the audience.[1] Quantum Leopard's first gig took place in February that year at the Rag Factory in east London.[2][3] Quantum Leopard later changed venues to The Nursery Improv Theatre in London Bridge. In 2018, Quantum Leopard won the Chortle Award for Best Club Night in London.[4] Olga Koch and Zoë Tomalin were jointly the inaugural 2018 Quantum Leopard Champion of Champions, selected from the winners of each show's new act competition.[5]

In 2019, Quantum Leopard moved venues to 2Northdown and won the Chortle Award for Best Club Night in London for the second year in a row.[4] Quantum Leopard is one of the inspirations behind Blizzard Comedy, which started in 2019.[6] During the Covid-19 pandemic, the lockdown led to the closure of comedy venues, with some comedians adapting by performing online.[7] When live performances resumed after the first lockdown in 2020, Quantum Leopard began recording its shows to share with people who were shielding. When another lockdown was introduced, Quantum Leopard began online performances over Zoom and Twitch simultaneously.[8] After a hiatus for part of 2022, Quantum Leopard resumed at Leakey's in south London,[9] then the George Tavern, and the Theatre Deli.

Content

Each night features multiple acts with at least one headliner, and a mixture of professional and semi-professional comedians and new acts.[10] The booking policy for acts is to aim for gender-balance, and to provide platforms for people of colour and LGBTQ people.[11] At each show there is a new act competition where comedians perform for five minutes, and the audience vote who they would like to see perform a 10-minute piece at a future show.[10][12][13] Competition winners have included Rosie Holt, Heidi Regan, Charlie George, and Sophie Duker. A 'Champion of Champions' is selected from the competition winners in the preceding year; it was introduced for 2018.

Year Champion of Champions
2018 Olga Koch and Zoë Tomalin[5]
2019 Mustafa Yasin[14]
2020 Toussaint Douglass[15]
2021 Cerys Bradley[16] and Louisa Keight[17]
2022 Rajiv Karia

Drawing on an approach used by comedian Briony Redman, audience interaction is based around consent from the audience, with audience members wearing stickers to indicate that they are happy interacting with a performer as part of the show.[1][18] In turn audiences are asked not to heckle.[19] The show has a pay what you want model, inspired by PBH's Free Fringe, to keep it financially accessible.[1][20]

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Result
2018[4] Chortle Awards Best Club Night: London Won
2019[21] Chortle Awards Best Club Night: London Won
2022[22] Chortle Awards Best Live Comedy Format Won
2023[23] Chortle Awards Best Themed Comedy Night Won

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Healy, Rachel (6 June 2019), "The new, kinder, comedy nights: 'A green sticker means an audience member has consented to having a chat'", inews.co.uk, retrieved 7 October 2022
  2. ↑ Simon Caine (6 March 2019). "EP117 – James Ross – How To Build A Cult Comedy Night | Quantum Leopard". Ask the Industry Podcast (Podcast). Event occurs at 20:12. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  3. ↑ Dave Pickering (2016). "GBA 255 James Ross". Getting Better Acquainted (Podcast). Event occurs at 8:30. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 Bennett, Steve (19 March 2018). "Revealed: Britain's best comedy venues of 2018". www.chortle.co.uk. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  5. 1 2 "Quantum Leopard Comedy [post]". Facebook. 1 January 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  6. ↑ Collins, Jonny (23 July 2019). "Jonny Collins on the struggles and successes of launching a safe space comedy show in 2019". blizzardcomedy.co.uk. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  7. ↑ Shah, Sooraj (16 July 2020). "Coronavirus: How Covid-19 hit the comedy industry". BBC News. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  8. ↑ "Quantum Leopard", Patreon, retrieved 7 October 2022
  9. ↑ @BlizzardComedy (September 5, 2022). "Quantum Leopard, the show we styled ourselves on, has been on a hiatus for a little while, but we are super excited to see that it is COMING BACK in October with some of the finest headline acts I've ever seen and some very familiar faces" (Tweet). Retrieved 7 October 2022 – via Twitter.
  10. 1 2 "Quantum Leopard Comedy". Facebook. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  11. ↑ Stone, Kate (14 January 2022). "In Praise of Going Solo". Funny Women. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  12. ↑ Simon Caine (6 March 2019). "EP117 – James Ross – How To Build A Cult Comedy Night | Quantum Leopard". Ask the Industry Podcast (Podcast). Event occurs at 04:14. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  13. ↑ Finch, Alex (8 November 2019). "Live Review: Rosie Jones, Tom Ward, Lucy Hopkins +". comedytowatch.com. Archived from the original on 24 September 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  14. ↑ "Mustafa Yasin Comedian At City Comedy Club". CITY COMEDY CLUB. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  15. ↑ "UTC Artist Management [post]". Facebook. 21 March 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  16. ↑ "Aberystwyth Comedy Festival Programme 2022 by Henry Widdicombe - Issuu". issuu.com. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  17. ↑ Guide, British Comedy. "Banana Split: A Stand-Up Comedy Show". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  18. ↑ Tyley, Roberto (3 September 2019), "Going to see standup comedy? Don't fear the front row!", The Guardian, retrieved 7 October 2022
  19. ↑ Dave Pickering (2016). "GBA 255 James Ross". Getting Better Acquainted (Podcast). Event occurs at 29:30. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  20. ↑ Simon Caine (6 March 2019). "EP117 – James Ross – How To Build A Cult Comedy Night | Quantum Leopard". Ask the Industry Podcast (Podcast). Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  21. ↑ Bennett, Steve (18 March 2019). "Who won the 2019 Chortle Awards". www.chortle.co.uk. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  22. ↑ "Which are the best comedy venues of 2022?". www.chortle.co.uk. 29 March 2022. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  23. ↑ Bennett, Steve (6 February 2023). "Chortle Awards 2023 winners announced : News 2023 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". www.chortle.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-02-08.
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