BFI comedy season L8 Laffs coming to Toxteth and VideOdyssey

Posted on 9 January 2019
By Tammy-Lee Walsh
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A BFI comedy season called L8-Laffs is kicking off its action-packed comedy programme with a screening of Coming to America at the VideOdyssey cinema this weekend.

The film starts the British Film Institute (BFI) Comedy Genius festival, a celebration of classic comedies across the nation designed to banish the January blues.

Directed by John Landis and starring Eddie Murphy, Coming to America tells the story of Prince Akeem (Murphy), who ventures to America in search of love after fleeing from an arranged marriage.

The hilarious classic, features an iconic African dance scene that world dance specialists Movema will use as inspiration for a dance class with live African drumming before the screening.

Audience members are encouraged to participate or to simply watch and enjoy.

L8 Laffs season curator Michael Pierce said: “We’re excited to host this event and be a part of the BFI’s Comedy Genius programme. We want to welcome the audience to participate in our extra activities before the screenings.

“This will be the first classic comedy screening of the series and will be followed up by other classics such as BIG starring Tom Hanks, which will include an extended scene paying tribute to the film’s recently deceased director Penny Marshall.

“I think this is a really exciting way to start off a season of iconic comedy classics, by involving the audience first.”

Movema director Ithalia Forel said they were excited to put on an African dance class with a live drummer before the movie, to get everyone moving and ready to laugh.

Ithalia, who teaches a weekly class at LIPA said: “Everyone remembers the iconic dance scene in the movie with the amazing display at the palace.

“It’s a great piece of 80s choreography, which fuses some moves that were popular from music videos of the time with some fantastic African dancing.

“These are the moves we’ll be learning, also with an Afro-Caribbean twist. And all with a live drummer. So we’re hoping it will be a pretty special opening to a classic movie.

“Although, it’s not compulsory – you can just listen to the drumming – we want to encourage people to move their bodies and shake off that sluggish January feeling!”

The screening takes place this Saturday at VideOdyssey’s studio cinema, which is based at Toxteth TV, Windsor Street, L8.

More information and to buy tickets, visit the L8 Laffs Facebook Events page: https://www.facebook.com/events/387977678676808/

Doors open at 17:30
The event takes place this Saturday, 12th January from 18:00-21:00
Tickets cost £5.00 including the dance lesson.

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