{"id":684784,"date":"2026-01-09T15:51:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T15:51:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/684784\/"},"modified":"2026-01-09T15:51:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T15:51:14","slug":"a-major-exhibition-of-comedy-legends-featuring-rik-mayalls-underpants-and-joe-lycetts-teddy-suit-is-coming-to-birmingham-this-february","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/684784\/","title":{"rendered":"A Major Exhibition Of Comedy Legends Featuring Rik Mayall\u2019s Underpants And Joe Lycett\u2019s Teddy Suit Is Coming To Birmingham This February"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/05.-Joe-Lycett-Custard-Factory-Birmingham-14.09.2025-1024x683.jpg\" class=\"img-fluid\" alt=\"05. Joe Lycett Custard Factory Birmingham 14.09.2025\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\"\/><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCredit: Andy Hollingworth<\/p>\n<p>    Save<\/p>\n<p>We all need a reminder to laugh in the winter months. A <strong>major photographic exhibition of some of the UK\u2019s comedy legends<\/strong>, past and present, opens at Birmingham Museum &amp; Art Gallery in February. \u2018I photograph comedians!\u2019 is a retrospective exhibition by <strong>British photographer Andy Hollingworth<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>The exhibition features nearly <strong>80 images of studio portraits, rare contemplative moments off-stage and live stage performances<\/strong>. It features a strong local connection with local comedians, such as <strong>Jasper Carrott and Stewart Lee<\/strong>, as well as brand-new, never-before-seen portraits of<strong> Lenny Henry, Joe Lycett, Jo Enright, and Shazia Mirza<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p> <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-21422\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/LH-1.jpg\" alt=\"Lenny Henry\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\"  \/>Credit: Andy Hollingworth <\/p>\n<p>Produced by Showtown, the museum of fun and entertainment in Blackpool, \u2018I photograph comedians!\u2019 celebrates iconic comedy greats who entertained for decades, like<strong> Ken Dodd, Sean Lock, Rik Mayall<\/strong> and Victoria Wood, alongside established and rising stars, such as <strong>Maisie Adam, Rhod Gilbert, Rosie Jones, Sarah Millican and Paul Smith<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Photographs of iconic objects such as <strong>Eric Morecambe\u2019s pipe<\/strong>, <strong>Tommy Cooper\u2019s fez<\/strong> and Billy <strong>Connolly\u2019s banana boots<\/strong> also feature, alongside comedy memorabilia such as costumes, backstage passes, programmes and tickets.<\/p>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-21423\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/06.-Rosie-Jones-Storyhouse-Chester-30.09.23.jpg\" alt=\"06. Rosie Jones Storyhouse Chester 30.09.23\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\"  \/>Credit: Andy Hollingworth <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis retrospective of my work over the last 30 years reflects the changing faces of comedy in the UK and my interaction with them,\u201d said Andy Hollingworth. \u201cI\u2019m delighted that it\u2019s being displayed in Birmingham, a city that has produced and been associated with many notable comedians over the years, and a vibrant comedy scene which includes the<strong> UK\u2019s second-longest-running comedy festival<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Among items on display will be a<strong> tour jacket worn by Lenny Henry<\/strong> on his 1984 tour, a <strong>signed pair of Rik Mayall\u2019s underpants<\/strong> and<strong> Joe Lycett\u2019s teddy suit<\/strong>, worn in the advertisement for series two of Late Night Lycett, which has recently been acquired for Birmingham\u2019s own permanent collection.<\/p>\n<p>A <strong>digital interactive component<\/strong> will provide deeper insights into Hollingworth\u2019s extensive archive, including clips of performances by Morecambe and Wise, Ken Dodd and Victoria Wood. Furthermore, a <strong>programme of events<\/strong> exploring comedy and laughter will complement the exhibition, including a series of <strong>exhibition talks and lates<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-21424\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/15.-Jason-Manford-05.05.24-Manchester-Opera-House.jpg\" alt=\"15. Jason Manford 05.05.24 Manchester Opera House\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\"  \/>Credit: Andy Hollingworth <\/p>\n<p>\u201cAndy Hollingworth\u2019s unique connection with the comedians he works with is evident in the intimacy of his photographs,\u201d said Zak Mensah and Sara Wajid, co-chief executives of Birmingham Museums Trust. \u201cHe has a distinctive style that captures the combination of onstage personas and backstage nerves and excitement \u2013 celebrating the performers and inviting audiences to see them from different points of view.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are particularly delighted that the exhibition celebrates local talent, featuring different generations of comedians from Birmingham and the West Midlands, as well as Joe Lycett\u2019s costume and items connected with venues such as Birmingham Hippodrome, Birmingham Odeon and Wolverhampton\u2019s Wulfrun and Civic Halls, showcasing the contribution the region makes to popular culture.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I photograph comedians!\u2019 by Andy Hollingworth will be on display in Gas Hall at Birmingham Museum &amp; Art Gallery from February 18 to May 31, 2026. Tickets are \u00a39 for adults, \u00a35 for concessions, while children aged up to 15 can visit for free.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Credit: Andy Hollingworth Save We all need a reminder to laugh in the winter months. A major photographic&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":684785,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7820],"tags":[855,748,393,4884,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-684784","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-birmingham","8":"tag-birmingham","9":"tag-britain","10":"tag-england","11":"tag-great-britain","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/684784","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=684784"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/684784\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/684785"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=684784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=684784"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=684784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}