COMMUNITY

Group of people on stage, standing in front of banners with logos, during an event or performance.

COMEDY SHOULD

GET OUT MORE

Felt Nowt exists to make more comedy happen in the North East, and that means more than putting gigs on in comedy clubs.

We work with young people, charities, community groups, care settings and cultural organisations to use comedy in ways that are useful, creative and genuinely fun. That might mean helping someone write their first joke, building the confidence to get on stage, taking live comedy somewhere that does not usually get it, or raising thousands of pounds for a brilliant cause.

Good comedy can do a lot more than fill a room.

“Felt Nowt are a fantastic example

of an ambitious organisation

with a social heart.”

Kevin Marquis, North East BIC

A FEW THINGS WE'RE PROUD OF

ALMOST £27,000 RAISED

For Rape Crisis Tyneside & Northumberland through our annual Tyne to Stand Up shows since 2022.

£5,000 BBC COMEDY GRANT

To create opportunities for LGBTQ+ people in the North East to write and perform comedy.

YOUNG PEOPLE ON STAGE

Through our work with the Shieldfield Youth Programme, young people have written jokes, developed performance skills and performed their own material.

COMEDY WHERE PEOPLE ARE

We have taken comedy into youth projects, community venues, care settings, gardens and local events across the North East.

YOUNG PEOPLE FINDING THEIR VOICE

SHIELDFIELD YOUTH PROGRAMME

We have worked with the Shieldfield Youth Programme to give young people a proper introduction to comedy.

Sessions have covered joke writing, storytelling, stage confidence and performance.

The important bit is that they actually get to do it.

Young people have written their own material, practised it, and performed in front of friends, family and live audiences.

“Told some jokes on stage. ONE OF THE BEST EXPERIENCES EVER!!!”

- Shieldfield Youth Programme participant

For some, it is the first time they have stood in front of a room and performed something they created themselves.

That is the point.

Not just talking about confidence.

Building it by doing something properly scary, funny and memorable.

Two people wearing jackets and sunglasses are on a stage with a gold tinsel curtain in the background. They are each holding a microphone and appear to be singing or speaking. The stage is lit with purple and multicolored lights, and there is an audience in front of them.
Group of people seated in a circle participating in a discussion or workshop in a room with white walls and hardwood floors.

OPENING THE DOOR TO COMEDY

BBC COMEDY LGBTQ+ PROJECT

In 2023, Felt Nowt was one of ten organisations across the UK to receive a BBC Comedy outreach and inclusion grant.

The £5,000 award funded comedy writing and performance opportunities for LGBTQ+ people in the North East, alongside work with young people through the Dawdon Youth Programme.

For some people it was their first time writing comedy.

For others, it became the start of something bigger, with participants going on to perform professionally, create their own nights and continue developing their work.

THE IMPORTANT BIT WAS GIVING PEOPLE A WAY IN.

BEYOND THE COMEDY CLUB

COMEDY THAT COMES TO YOU

Not everybody can get to a comedy club.

So sometimes we take the comedy to them.

We have put on live shows and workshops in care settings, youth projects, community spaces and other places where a normal comedy night would not usually happen.

That has included performing at Newcastle's Connie Lewcock Resource Centre for people recovering after hospital treatment, family comedy and workshops at The Alnwick Garden, and community events across the North East.

The format changes depending on the people in the room.

It should still feel like a proper comedy experience.

A woman singing into a microphone in front of an audience of elderly people in a room with a door and window showing greenery outside.
A woman with bright orange hair speaking at a conference or seminar. Audience members are seated, facing the speaker, in a modern indoor space with wooden wall panels, large windows, and decorative plants.

BUILT AROUND THE PEOPLE IN THE ROOM

DIFFERENT PEOPLE. DIFFERENT PLACES.

We have worked with organisations on everything from a single workshop to larger programmes and live events.

That might mean helping young people write and perform their first jokes.

It might mean creating a show for an audience who cannot easily get to a comedy venue.

It might mean adding comedy to an existing community event.

Or it might be something we have not tried yet.

There is no standard package. We build the project around the people taking part.

PEOPLE WE’VE WORKED WITH

GOT A GROUP? WE’VE GOT COMEDIANS

If you represent a community group, charity, youth organisation, care home, school or other organisation in the North East, we’d love to hear from you.

You do not need to have a fully formed idea already.

Tell us who you work with, what you want to achieve and what sort of thing you have in mind.

We can work out where comedy might fit.