The 10th Anniversary Funny Women Awards was summed up brilliantly by Shane Allen who chaired the judging panel: "Well done on a very successful year – great finalists and a very enjoyable event."
We couldn’t have said it better ourselves and that coming from the current head of comedy for Channel 4 and soon-to-be controller, comedy commissioning for the BBC, is an even greater accolade!
The show was co-hosted by Funny Women Winner 2006, Suzy Bennett and Rowan Pelling, writer and columnist and winner of our Charity Challenge earlier this year. Rowan did a brilliant job, stepping into the shoes of Charlie Webster at the very last minute as her filming schedule for Sky Sports was changed. Suzy Bennett was her usual ebullient self and kept the audience laughing in between acts with her trademark banter. (Pictured Top)
Commenting on the evening, Caroline Raphael, commissioning editor comedy & fiction for BBC Radio 4, said "The standard was incredibly high and I very much enjoyed taking part." A sentiment echoed by Louise Court, editor of Cosmopolitan Magazine, who said "Congratulations on a great night, and two exciting winners" and Gail Bojarski, who is "so delighted to have been a judge at the Funny Women awards last night. The evening was a real blast, with terrifically talented participants. After all at Benefit, 'laughter is the best cosmetic', so the perfect evening."
Alice Frick kicked off the evening with a routine about the only famous people to come out of her native Austria, the Von Trapps, Arnold Schwarzennegger and Josef Fritzl. Alice’s wide eyed charm meant she could get away with some seriously dark material! (Pictured Top Middle)
Lucy Montague-Moffatt’s ‘girly’ routine managed to combine Hello Kitty with a liberal selection of knob gags, making for a brilliantly uncomfortable juxtaposition of material.
General Advice Bureau gave us an insight into the joys of motherhood with some brilliant physical comedy; mainlining coffee granules to maintain their hectic child-raising schedules, with unfortunate consequences. (Pictured Middle Bottom)
Cerys Nelmes based her routine on past life as a porn star and firefighter, yes, really, as well as poking fun at her West Country roots.
Amy Gledhill’s act was incredibly accomplished considering that her first ever gig was at the Salford Funny Women regional heat less than six months ago! Her ‘comedy master-class’ saw her breaking all her own rules with some great physical comedy thrown in.
Runner-up Niamh Marron’s routine centred around well, herself (as many a good comic’s routine does). From discussing what she would be like if she took drugs (a frightening prospect) through to the Irish technique for ‘oral relief’, her fast and furious style wowed the judges.
Runner-up Katie Tracey’s laconic style had the audience in stitches as she related her laid-back attitude to settling…sorry, relationships, and being known as 'superwank'.
Viv Groskop’s material combined great one liners with sharply observed comedy related to her middle class angst and her forays into feminist rap, or frap. We expect to hear more from the Notorious V.I.V on this…
Lucy Frederick, a true English rose, demonstrated the results of her Regency dating research, with furtive glances and a heaving bosom, guaranteed the catch the eye of the village blacksmith. (Pictured Bottom)
Sooz Kempner, Winner of the Variety Award, and her sparkly showbiz boots, delighted the crowd with power ballads about philandering footballers and how to get famous.
Winning act Gabby Best’s Eastern European fitness instructor Marijana got the loudest laughs for her new business idea, slimming down the country's fatty cats.
Sofie Hagen, Danish, happy to perform for us in English, regaled the audience with her experiences of being hit on in London by 'chubby-chasers', and starting a fat club.
The Silky Pair rounded off the evening by inviting us into their pop up shop of comedy sketches. Talented duo Katherine Bond and Lorna Shaw combined excellent comic writing with physical comedy to really sell their songs.
Lara A King, 2011 Funny Women Award Winner and notorious people pleaser, headlined the evening with her fantastic comedy songwriting and tales of coming out.
See more photos from the evening at our Facebook page: facebook.com/wearefunnywomen.
