London Comedians join in the London without Limits festival fun in support of blind young Londoners

Comedians Arthur Smith and Chris McCausland will join David Page and Joey Morgan for a very special edition of Comedy in the Dark on October 20th.

The comedians will perform to an audience pitched in total darkness at London's West End Comedy Store. Comedy in the Dark which found success at the Edinburgh Fringe, is hosting the event to support the first ever London Without Limits festival – a series of surprising, sensory and sociable blindfold events taking place across London.

The festival will raise money for RLSB (Royal London Society for Blind People), a London-based charity committed to ending the loneliness, unemployment and poverty that many blind young people experience.

The series of blindfolded events will take place during the six-week festival, which will culminate in a blindfolded 10k run around the Olympic Park in November.

By participating in the fun and unusual events taking place at venues across the capital, Londoners will get a brief insight in to how blind young people experience some of the capital's top past times.

RLSB will use funds raised through the events to help the 7,000 vision impaired young people across London and the South East to take control of their life and fulfil their true potential through an expert blend of family support, education, sport, creative and developmental services.

Tom Pey, chief executive at RLSB says:

"London without Limits is a new and exciting venture for us and we want to make this a festival to remember. People joining in will have fun and undergo sensory experiences that will challenge their everyday perceptions.

"Sadly childhood sight loss continues to be a predictor of a poor and lonely adult life. 90% of those who lose their sight in youth won't have a job for more than six months in their life.

"By getting involved in London without Limits, Londoners are helping RLSB to put an end to the lonely reality of sight loss and are helping blind young people to live a life without limits."

Chris McCausland, who is blind himself, spoke of what it's like performing at Comedy in the Dark:

"Some of the audience can feel very self-conscious about laughing in public. In the dark I've found people feel freer about expressing themselves and also they don't feel judged by others as they can't be seen."

All proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to RLSB.

Some of the blindfolded events taking place during London without Limits include:

• Blindfolded patisserie tastings at Maison Blanc. Hampstead – from 29th September
• Blindfolded dining opportunities at Island Grill, Lancaster Hotel. Hyde Park – 29th September
• Blindfolded dinner at Vinoteca. Farringdon – 16th October
• Blindfolded wine tastings at Vinoteca. Branches across London – throughout October
• Comedy in the dark. The Comedy Store, Soho – 20th October
• 'Debate in the dark' – Q&A with Matt Forde and Iain Dale at Dans Le Noir restaurant, Clerkenwell -27th October
• Blindfolded tasting dinner. Novikov, Mayfair – 27th October
• UK's first ever Blindfolded 10k run. The Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Stratford – 2nd November

With the blindfold at the heart of the campaign, RLSB has been working with some of the fashion industry's best-known designers – Giles Deacon, Wayne Hemingway and Lisa King – to develop a set of limited edition blindfolds. These will be available to purchase at the events, with all profits going to the charity.

To find out more about London without Limits and find out how you can take part, visit Londonwithoutimits.com or follow #ldnwithoutlimits on Twitter. For further information about RLSB and its work visit: www.rlsb.org.uk