Thursday 13th June 2013 saw the Funny Women Team at the beautiful Barber-Surgeons’ Hall, watching businessmen from all kinds of professional backgrounds make their comedy debut for charity as part of Funny Women Challenge the Men with 2012 Charity Challenge winner Rowan Pelling and businesswoman/comedian Julia Streets representing the funny women on stage.
The history of the barber-surgeon profession is bloody and painful; the barber-surgeons of the 1500s gave hairdressing, surgery and dentistry a go. Putting together a five minute stand up set might have felt like pulling teeth for some of the Challengers and mentors involved in the event, but the results made it all worth it with over £11k already raised for the men’s chosen causes.
These high powered men had clearly taken advice from their mentors, there were self-deprecating anecdotes from Will Broome and the demise of his early music career (and his Spandex trousers – on loan from his mother) and an in-depth investigation into men’s toilet habits – thanks to Challenger Geoffrey Marx. No stereotypical mother-in-law jokes from this lot!
Charles Wahab, bearing a striking resemblance to original Saturday Night Live cast member John Belushi, brought some dark observations about working in the financial sector and his Islamic heritage. Andy Lopata discussed the challenges of having a job nobody quite understands – did we ever get to the bottom of what an
independent business networking strategist and public speaker is?! He assured us that he’s not a ‘tosser’ and, as if to prove it,
Andy has already been booked to MC a wedding based on his performance!
Graham Ball regaled us with tales from his childhood and his father’s ambition for Graham to speak the Queen’s English; instead he turned his posh Headmaster's accent Northern! Lewis Malka played out the role of ‘diamond geezer’ with a nod to his love of fast cars and James Bond.
Rob Barker warned us of the dangers of ageing – bristle brush hair growing out of one's ears is the horrifying image that stuck with us, and Mick Glossop took us through his history of famous rock stars’ experiments, such as: what happens to a TV if it's still attached to the mains when it hits the water in the swimming pool?
Close shaves were on Benefit Cosmetic’s Ian Marshall’s mind, sharing an incident on a glider plane with us in which he realised his priorities when faced with death or admitting ignorance.
Big Fred Anson, our cockney Challenger’s technique to steady his nerves won him the place of runner up and, whether it was the booze speaking or just his inner voice, Fred took the opportunity to confess he wasn’t sure there was such a thing as a funny woman!
On the other hand, both our winner and runner up bended the gender divide to earn their votes. David McQueen won himself a magnificent second place with a portrayal of his Barbadian mother and her insistence on clean 
underwear as a priority for all life-threatening situations. This is an image that will live on!
First prize went to music producer Steven Williams who introduced us to his alter-ego 'Morag' and wowed us all with his analysis of accents using his musician’s ear, taking educational trips from Northern Ireland via America, and Wales via India and back again!
Funny Women’s favourite celebrity fitness trainer and health guru 'Marijana' (Funny Women Awards 2012 winner Gabby Best) made an appearance after the men had left the stage and was quick to suggest that runner up Fred Anson might have met more funny women in his time if he had been a little quieter. Funny women were certainly out in force on Thursday night so not to be messed with!
Funny Women founder Lynne Parker said of the show: "It was a fantastic evening and demonstrated why we, as women, believe that collaboration is communication. We all learned a lot about how men and women are wired throughout this Challenge and it’s true, we do work differently. Above all though, we need each other and things work out best when there’s an even playing field. I think together we’ve helped to redefine feminism!”
We are delighted to report we have already raised over £11,000 for the men’s chosen charities, and you can still donate! Find out how by clicking HERE.
Pictured from top to bottom: David McQueen, Geoffrey Marx and Charles Wahab
