Bella Humphries is a comedian, actor and writer from Swindon. Having made her West End debut in Billy Elliot, Bella trained at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama before turning her attention to stand-up comedy, quickly making a name for herself on the circuit and being selected for the regional heats of the BBC New Comedy Award.
Bella has performed at Machynlleth Comedy Festival, Greenman Festival, done tour support for Kiri Pritchard-McLean, co-run popular comedy night Shed Load of New Comedy in Y Felinheli and most recently joined Little Wander’s New Welsh Wave Comedy Tour. In 2023, Bella wrote and presented BBC Radio Wales feature, Bleeding Hell, (produced by Little Wander) which has since been recommissioned for a second two part series coming in 2024.
Tell us about your show.
My show is called ‘Square Peg’ and it’s my debut stand-up hour. It’s a hugely personal, heartfelt show that tells the story of feeling like a fish out of water living in a new place whilst also coming to terms with a diagnosis of Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD). But don’t be put off by the seemingly serious subject matter, it’s a lot of fun, I promise.
How do you find talking about such personal issues on stage, is it difficult?
It definitely was to begin with and I was really hesitant about talking about my PMDD on stage for a long time because I was worried how people would react. But, on the whole, I got such a positive response that it spurred me on to talk about it more! So, if you don’t like it, you can blame all those lovely people that gave me nice feedback for giving me the confidence! Talking about it now just feels like second nature to me to be so open on stage and that’s really helped me find my voice in comedy.
How does it feel to be returning to the Edinburgh Fringe?
It feels amazing to be returning to the Edinburgh Fringe this year. I haven’t been since 2018 so it feels fantastic to finally be back! This is my debut hour so it’s definitely more pressure than I’ve ever experienced in relation to the Fringe before which is pretty daunting, I’ll be honest. But it’s the most excited I’ve ever felt about stand-up – at the moment anyway! Maybe check back in on week three of the Fringe. It could be a different story.
Have you got any tips for comedians going up to the festival for the first time?
Pace yourself. Enjoy yourself. Don’t be a dick. The recipe for a good Fringe I think.
Who are the funny women you would recommend seeing in Edinburgh this year?
I’m hugely excited to see Rachel Fairburn’s new character show this year at the Fringe. I absolutely love her stand-up so I’m really intrigued to see what this show is like. If it’s anything like her other work though it’ll be 10/10! So I’d highly recommend you see that or her stand-up show, Showgirl, that she’s also doing.
Bella Humphries: Square Peg, 1-25 August (not the 12 August) at 6.10pm, at Just the Tonic Mash House. Book tickets here.
