Board
If you are interested in finding out more about becoming a Director of the Community Interest Company, and help represent our members, please email us hello@livecomedyassociation.co.uk
David Elphick (co-chair)
David is a prominent figure in the UK’s live comedy and entertainment industry, with deep roots in Nottingham. His career spans over two decades, marked by entrepreneurial ventures and leadership roles that have significantly influenced the comedy scene both locally and nationally.
Elphick’s association with the renowned Jongleurs comedy brand began in 2001 when he managed the Nottingham venue. In 2010, he secured a franchise to reopen Jongleurs in Nottingham, expressing his ambition to make it “the live entertainment venue by which others will measure their standards”. Later that year, he was appointed Managing Director of Jongleurs, taking over day-to-day operations from founder Maria Kempinska until leaving to set up his own comedy brand .
In 2017, David founded Dave’s Comedy, a consultancy dedicated to producing high-quality comedy shows across the UK . His commitment to the comedy industry extends to his role as Co-Chair of the Live Comedy Association, where he advocates for the interests of live comedy performers and venues . He also held an interim role as Chief Executive at the Leicester Comedy Festival.
Jessica Toomey (co-chair)
Jessica has been working in Live Comedy since 2003, joining the family business the Frog and Bucket Comedy club. The Frog is the longest running comedy club out of London, Est. 1994.
Since then Jessica went onto also run the Women in Comedy Festival, established 2013 and was part of the original formation of the Live Comedy Association in 2020 which she has since become the director of.
Jessica is also the founder of FAB Comedy Management and also freelances as an advisor / Comedy associate for the Edinburgh Fringe society.
Mark Boosey
Mark Boosey founded the website British Comedy Guide in 2003. He still edits the website today, delivering news and information to nearly a million monthly visitors. His role involves attending shows at clubs, theatres and festivals around the UK, and he is regularly asked to judge the country’s various competitions for new acts as well as those for established performers.
Mark facilitates the Comedians’ Choice Awards, Malcolm Hardee Awards and Comedy Poster Awards at the Edinburgh Festival each August and oversees the website’s unique collection and collation of data related to live comedy whilst at the festival too. Through the BCG Pro platform, he also helps deliver advice and insight for up-and-coming performers and writers.
Paul Richardson
Paul has been part of the live comedy industry since 2017, performing as Saul Henry. From 2018 to 2024 he managed Leeds’s longest running new act new material night Comedy Cellar at Verve. The night won Best Open Mic Night at the Yorkshire Comedy Industry Awards in 2022 and 2023.
Paul is an active member of the comedy community in Yorkshire and was shortlisted for the Good Egg Award at the 2025 Yorkshire Comedy Industry Awards. He performs at comedy clubs, nights and festivals across the UK.
Beyond comedy, Paul brings over two decades of experience as a manager in the public and voluntary sectors. His expertise in strategic thinking, relationship building and stakeholder and community engagement complements his work in supporting and developing the live comedy sector.
Liam Pape
Liam has been working in live comedy since 2017, starting out as show manager for London’s largest independent comedy club. He later founded The West End Comedy Club - created to tackle low pay, lack of transparency and poor representation in the industry.
The club quickly grew to five nights a week across Soho, working with over 400 comedians a year and earning Tripadvisor Traveller’s Choice Awards. It was an inaugural member of ‘Get Off! Live Comedy’ and launched a Working Class Bursary for comedians debuting at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2023.
Liam has produced comedy across the UK and for international acts including Marie Faustin, Mario Adrion, Reem Edan, and Rosalie Minnitt (closer to home). He also writes about comedy for The Guardian, The Telegraph and Private Eye.
Che Burnley
Che started out as the Events Managers at Liverpool John Moores SU, running comedy both there and at Liverpool University before getting into performing himself. Promoting and hosting shows across the city for several years including the Rawhide Comedy Gong Show for Liverpool’s Royal Court Theatre, he also sat on the Theatres Comedy Trust for a number of years, promoting and helping comedy and comedians in the city.
Che also regularly performed at the Edinburgh Fringe and developed the Alternative Black Comedy Showcase to help give voice to the wide range of global majority acts here and from overseas at the festival. In 2025 The Showcase won the ISH Awards panel Prize and Che also performed in 2025 Best Show ‘Phil Ellis: Soppy Stern’.
Having delivered comedy workshops for the NHS for people with depression and anxiety previously, Che has now set up as a CIC and is developing workshops to enable kids from global majority backgrounds access to areas of the entertainment world not often open to them and also to adults who may have not been given the opportunity or have mental health issues.