The 13th Women in Comedy Festival closed on 13th October with the announcement of the recipients of its inaugural awards.
This year for the first time, the Women in Comedy Festival launched two awards specifically for acts performing at the festival and the first winners were Laura Lexx for her show, Slinky, which won ‘Best Show’ and Ariel Hebditch won ‘Best Newcomer’ for her debut show, Skeleton Out of the Closet.
Nominees for both categories included:
Best Show
Grave Mulvey – Tall Baby
Alex Stinger – Happy Hour
Bella Humphries – Square Peg
Best Newcomer
Molly McGuinness – Slob
Zana Fejzic – Chameleon
Caitriona Dowden – Divine Comedy
The awards were sponsored by Jason Manford and his Manford’s Comedy Clubs. The winners will receive cash prizes of £500 each.
The festival ran for 10 days with nearly 80 shows spread across multiple Manchester venues. Now in its 13th year, the festival goes from strength to strength in supporting cis women, and those who identify as women, in the comedy industry.
History
The Women in Comedy Festival was founded in 2012 by Hazel O’Keefe who at the time was running the all-female comedy club Laughing Cows and who is now a patron of the festival. Jessica Toomey, Director of the Frog and Bucket Comedy Club and FAB Comedy Management now runs the festival alongside Aimee Perry; employing the same ethos Hazel began it with.
