Sascha LO, “comedian, writer and attention-seeker”, was one of the 2023 Funny Women Stage Award finalists, impressing the audience and judges with her versatile, silly and funny set. We chatted to her about sneaking into comedy shows at 13, how women can lift each other up and embracing her generation’s chaos.
How did you get into stand-up?
It was a targeted ad – they really do work. I was 13 and got an ad for Daniel Sloss at the Soho Theatre and my friend and I went. Although, the show was 16+ and I was clearly a tween wearing a Snoopy t-shirt so I’m not really sure how we managed to get in. It was my first time watching live comedy and it (not to be cringe) changed my life. From that night, I started going to Angel Comedy and the Soho Theatre most weekends to watch shows and then I did my first gig to about five people – including my parents – when I was 16. Although, I actually started properly when I was 19 and had slightly more to talk about than just my mum and GCSEs.
What was it like being a finalist in the 2023 Funny Women Awards?
It was very surreal being a finalist in such an esteemed competition, especially at my age. The actual show was slightly nerve-wracking but really fun, and all the acts were so supportive and lovely. I think we all became good friends and it was such a nice experience to share with such an amazing group of women.
Why is Funny Women important to you?
Whilst the number of women in comedy is definitely increasing, I am still often the only woman on a line up, especially when I gig outside of London. I think that Funny Women highlights, cultivates and celebrates female comedians. It provides a necessary platform for female acts and a space where female comedians can collaborate and uplift each other and makes the existence of women in the comedy space the norm.
Tell us about your comedy style.
At the minute I’d describe myself as a character comedian, doing a hyper-stylised satire of a gen Z privileged gap yah girlie. I’ve been going a lot more multi-media and surreal with it recently, which I really enjoy. I think it’s fun to embrace the chaos and contradictions of my generation, and bring our style of comedy from the digital to the live format.
What’s next for you?
I’ve got a few projects going on at the minute, which is exciting. In terms of stand up, I’m working towards doing my debut hour show in August 2025. I also run a monthly women-led comedy night called Material Girls Comedy at the Omnibus Theatre in Clapham, with Aisha Amanduri, which has been growing a lot recently – and a bunch of the other acts from the final are booked in our upcoming shows. I’m also directing a new surreal comedy short film that I wrote about head lice and climate change this January, on top of developing some longer-form writing projects.
Who are your favourite Funny Women?
There are so, so many but a few include Lucy Beaumont, Cat Cohen, Natalie Palamides and Emma Sidi.
What do you love about stand up?
The people mostly. It’s a very free medium, so it encourages so many different, weird and wonderful voices to take part. Doing comedy gives me the opportunity to meet and work with truly interesting people who I really admire, and some absolute freaks too.
Follow Sascha on Instagram and her website
Material Girls Comedy can also be found on Instagram
You can follow Funny Women on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Images by Steve Ullathorne
