What a way to spend a Monday evening. Yes, there may have been a Tube strike – calm down London, you do still have legs – but that didn’t stop the semi-finalists in this year’s Funny Women Awards knocking the collective socks off those happily ignoring TFL traumas in our little corner of Leicester Square. Lily Allen was there and everything. (Ok, so by ‘there’, we mean ‘in the same Square’, which may not actually constitute there but definitely still counts.)
Our hand-picked selection of Britain’s best, fresh comedy talent took to the Leicester Square Theatre stage in two back-to-back heats stuffed to the very brim with female funny. The evening had it all, from stand-up, to sketch, via song in a side-splitting comedy binge. Congratulations to each and every act who took part – all shone like the rising stars we’re confident we’ve found…
Winners from Heat 1
With such boundless talent on display, our judges faced a mammoth task in deciding who should qualify for the final. Hosts Suzy Bennett and Maureen Younger held the fort with as-ever hilarious aplomb as our panel were whisked off to their glamorous bespoke debating chamber – oh alright, a corridor backstage – to decide who should go forward. With just ten minutes at the end of each show to reach an agreement, this was X Factor – on amphetamines. Many thanks to our esteemed judges for their hard work, and collective cool heads under pressure. You put Cowell and Co to shame.
So, without further ado, the acts selected for the final showdown on September 20th are: Jessica Fostekew, Sarah Hendrickx, Alison Thea-Skot as Tiff Mason the Vocal Coach, Helen Arney, Rachel Parris, Abigoliah Schamaun, Iona Dudley-Ward as Lynne the Confidence Coach, Liz Black and Freya Slipper as sketch duo Thankless Child, Gemma Whelan as Chastity Butterworth, and Julia Clark. Congratulations, you very, very funny women.
Winners from Heat 2
And it’s not over yet for those who didn’t quite make the cut. Next stop, it’s our one-off exclusive Laugh Chance Saloon at the Roundhouse, where we’re going back to basics in choosing our last two ‘wildcard’ finalists from the 8 acts who just missed out on guaranteed places. This time round, it’s not judges deciding who goes through, but comedy’s one true jury: the audience. Pitching out the punch lines in this final fight-to-the-funny will be Laura Lexx, Jojo Georgiou, Gemma Layton, Sunna Jarman, Hayley Ellis, Clare Lomas, Lindsay Sharman and Louisa Theobald. Good luck to all.
