Every year we are blown away by the standard of all the Funny Women Writing Award and this year was no different. Our fantastic judging panel consisted of Gavin Smith of The Comedy Unit (Badults, Limmy’s Show), award-winning comedy writer and performer, Sian Harries (Dilemma, Man Down), Caz Moran, writer of Raised By Wolves, BBC Comedy Producer, Suzy Grant (Newsjack), Sara Schulman of Comedy Blogedy, and ex BBC Comedy and Entertainment Producer, Karen Rosie. They all loved 2015 Comedy Writing Award winner’s Christine Entwisle’s Do You Wish To Continue? We caught up with her to chat about her script and her comedy plans…
Funny Women: How does it feel to win the Funny Women Writing Award?
Christine Entwisle: Wonderful. I’m so grateful to Funny Women. it’s such an amazing boost to me to have my work recognised and to be given access to further opportunity. I would like to say that I am still on cloud nine but I’m afraid that even as the applause faded, I began to wonder whether they might have got me mixed up with someone else.
FW: What inspired you to enter the Awards?
CE: Someone sent me a link to it. I was very pushed for time because I was up in Edinburgh directing a Lazy Susan show so I had to get it all together in a day when I got back. I had written the script already but it was intended for radio, so I had to do some jiggery pokery and also write that dreaded mind bender: the treatment
FW: Tell us a little about your winning script.
CE: Doyouwishtocontinue is a black comedy about a middle aged depressive and her relationship with her incompetent CBT counsellor. her new job as an assistant in a boutique art gallery run by an eccentric old man, brings with it as much hope as it does mishap
FW: What’s next for you in comedy?
CE: I’m trying out a bit of character stand up.
FW: Who are your favourite funny women?
CE: Victoria Wood, Pippa Haywood, Julia Davies, Catherine Tate, Margaret Rutherford, Katherine Hepburn, Miranda July, Lena Dunham… it goes on and on
FW: Any advice for those thinking of entering next year?
CE: Don’t wait for it to be perfect. Nothing’s ever perfect. Just do your best and send it in. And if you don’t win, write something else. Writing a script is never time wasted.
