Drag Story Time comes to Leicester Comedy Festival

Story Time with Mama G is one of many shows coming to Leicester Comedy Festival this year. Mama G has been a professional panto dame for twenty years, appearing in over fifty pantomimes across her career, and publishing several books staring with her 2024 picture book, Oh Yes I Am! She will be bringing two storytelling productions, one aimed at families and the second aimed at adults to James' Cafe Bistro on Friday 20^th February as part of the Comedy Festival.

Leicester takes place from 4th-22nd February 2026

The family friendly shows will be held at 2pm and again at 3.30pm where Mama G will share “original stories and songs, and some of the best picture books on the market, in an uplifting story time for the whole family.

“There'll be dancing and giggles galore as Mama G shares the power of being who you want and loving who you are!”

The production aimed at adults, will be held at 5.30pm, and will feature the same fun storytelling and songs.

“The adult [show] won't be rude or crude, but it is aimed to be a comforting experience for grown-ups who may not have had the chance to see themselves in stories when they were kids.”

In 2024, Mama G published her first picture book ‘Oh Yes I Am’ which plays on the call and response of panto, and celebrates the positive power of performance. Since then, it has been adapted for the stage, and become a library favourite; in 2025 it was borrowed almost 1000 times from UK libraries alone. It was later followed by another picture book, The Panto Song, and a panto themed quiz book called Oh Yes It Quiz! Her next book The Proudest Bird in the World will be released later in 2026.

Mama G has been using panto as a vehicle for storytelling for the last eight years including telling stories at some of the UK’s most prestigious literary festivals, including Hay-on-Wye and Cheltenham.

A press release about the upcoming performances for Leicester Comedy Festival explains: “Books are not just an incredible window into the lives of others, but also an important way of allowing us to understand who we are.

“At a time when so many communities are under attack, Story Time with Mama G is a great way to engage younger audiences with the importance of inclusivity, and the power of being confidently yourself.

“For older audiences it offers new perspectives, and simpler language to discuss difficult topics. All of this while having all the fun of one of the UK’s greatest theatrical traditions!”

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