So the Funny Women Awards heats have started and wow did we get off with a bang!
First stop was Liverpool last Saturday 7th May and we were amazed at the talent. Liverpool definitely raised the stakes in this competition because the standard was very high.
Firstly I have to say how exciting it was to be a part of the Liverpool Comedy Festival and we were at a wonderful venue The Bluecoat, known as Liverpool’s creative hub, right at the heart of the beautiful city.
Along with the great team behind the heat at the Bluecoat, Vanessa, Rachel and Dan, we started the day off with an in depth panel discussion surrounding the issues women face in comedy. Touching on the lack of female comedy, the stereotypes of female comedy, what female comedians can get away with as opposed to men, even to the point where we discussed about what a female comedian should wear (I feel another blog coming on). It was very interesting to see the views from the audience many of who were comedians themselves and the battles they’ve had to face during their careers as women.
Then the fun really started as our first heat began. In all honesty everyone was so professional and funny it didn’t even feel like a competition just an ordinary stand-up night. And the mixture of different types of comedy gave the heat a really exciting kick with three character acts included all of which were equally good although wonderfully different. I’m telling you judging this was hard as my sides ached from laughter by the end of the night. And our host Pauline Daniels was spectacular giving a really dry, cabaret insight of the female world. She has the wit and speed to challenge any male host.
And our weekend of fun didn’t stop at Liverpool; straight after, on Sunday, we had our second heat in our regular London venue, the Leicester Square Theatre. Even with a full house of contestants and supporters I thought it would be hard to beat Liverpool for talent but again the bar was raised. With our cynical yet satirical host Catherine Semark and our headline Gemma Whelan with her spinsterly alter ego Chastity Butterworth you knew you would be in for a treat and the contestants really blew me away. Again it didn’t even feel like a competition each contestant was so professional.
And one of the highlights of the evening was the fact there were three rowdy Scottish men in the front row donned in kilts and celebrating a stag weekend. It was particularly funny that they chose to come to a female comedy night. Apparently one of the contestants met them on a train and told them to come along, needless to say they were singled out throughout the night but thankfully took it well and by the sounds of their laughter enjoyed their night. I think they were quite shocked at how racy some of the comedians were.
What I loved most about this night was that I always wondered if women can get away with some of the things male comedians can (one of the topics brought up in the Liverpool panel discussion) and each comedian touched on subjects that could be seen as very UN PC. When I was doing stand-up in America I was told to censor some of my material because I was a woman… I feel another blog coming on! I guess I am just as judgemental about female comedians but the contestants proved me wrong as many a time that night I could hear myself laugh out loud in pure enjoyment and shock – my favourite emotions to be brought out in comedy.
All in all the first two heats were a complete success and I’m looking forward to the next one, this time at one of our favourite festivals, Brighton Fringe, this coming Sunday 15th May at Komedia. So, if you think you’ve got what it takes why not register? After the first two heats I cannot tell you how much fun, supportive and exciting this competition is. This year’s Funny Women Awards is already a success and new female comedy talent is about to be discovered.
Niki Durham
