Last week nine amazing women from all walks of life made their comedy debut on stage at the Edinburgh Fringe. The 2026 cohort of The Glitter Challenge put on a spectacular show and we couldn’t be prouder. Over the last three months they have been mentored, coached and ‘bootcamped’, ready to perform five minutes of live stand-up comedy at the world’s largest arts festival.
There are around 4,500 shows at this year’s festival so we were very happy to have 80 people in our audience enjoying some very special comedy in the glitzy surroundings of the Underground at Assembly, just off of George Square right at the heart of the Fringe.
To recap, we Challenged nine women who are not ‘jobbing’ comedians, i.e. not actively gigging regularly on the traditional comedy circuit, to perform five minutes of original comedy to help us raise money for The Glitter Project. This is our award-winning community outreach programme supporting women’s health and wellbeing through comedy and creativity founded in the image of our former Funny Women board member, Jo Fletcher Cross, who died earlier this year after a four-year battle with cancer.
We launched The Glitter Project at the Fringe in 2024 thanks to receiving the BBC Comedy Grant, and went on to run a full programme in 2025 around England funded by the National Lottery through Arts Council England (ACE). Now that the funding has run out and with a second application to ACE failing earlier this year, we are reliant on the power of our community to support us with donations and volunteering to keep this important initiative going.
One of our key fundraisers is now The Glitter Challenge, our fast-track self development programme for professional women to build confidence and presence through comedy. Our founder Lynne Parker came up with the idea based on over 20 years experience as a comedy producer, coach and facilitator. She has run countless workshops for both the public and organisations with a remit to empower their female and non-binary staff.
This year’s cohort of Glitter Challengers are busy professionals working across the creative industries, marketing, finance, property management, coaching and public speaking. They’ve embraced the Challenge with energy, enthusiasm and a fair amount of fear and tears thrown in! Firm friendships have been formed and comedy careers unleashed.
Here’s what they had to say about their Glitter Challenge experiences:
“I absolutely loved every minute of it,” says Danni. “What’s not to like – I met fabulous new people, I can apply the lessons I’ve learnt to my day job presenting and speaking, plus I got to perform on stage at the Edinburgh Fringe alongside eight other very funny women.
“Thanks to Louise Leigh for so generously mentoring me in the dark art of comedy, and also the dark art of flyering The Royal Mile. Fun but hard! What’s next…?”
Dominique Levack (Betty Cherry)
“I found the whole process joyful and exhilarating,” says Dominique of her performance in the persona of ‘Betty Cherry’.
“The workshops were great for building confidence and trust and my mentor Pauline Eyre being a professional comedian was so important. She was able to coach me across all areas of the performance experience, as well as help shape my set and write jokes for me too!
“I would highly recommend the Glitter Challenge to any woman who wants to find herself, who loves to laugh and make people laugh. The team is fabulous and are professionals covering burlesque to improvisation, glorious women who are rooting for you from start to finish.
“I will definitely be signing up again!”
“The Glitter Challenge has been genuinely life changing for me,” explains Carla movingly. “I thought I was learning how to do stand up, but actually I was learning how to be seen, take up space and stop making myself smaller.
“Funny Women created a safe, supportive and non-competitive space where I could stretch myself without becoming overwhelmed. With every workshop and performance, I learnt to build more trust in myself and build more capacity in my nervous system.
“I came away feeling more confident, more visible and much more able to show up for myself without self-abandonment.” We hear you Carla!
Jane sent us her response to the Challenge by way of this poem by Christopher Logue:
“Come to the edge.
We might fall.
Come to the edge.
It’s too high!
COME TO THE EDGE!
And they came,
and he pushed,
And they flew.”
Thank you. They all flew for sure.
“This is an incredible opportunity for anyone, no matter your experience or confidence level,” says Cayley. “The support, mentorship, love and laughs you’ll receive on this journey is endless and that feeling when you walk off the stage at the Edinburgh Fringe will be like no other.
“Forever grateful for this Challenge coming my way and for all the work the amazing team and community behind Funny Women do. I couldn’t recommend it more to anyone who’s got their eye on it… I know it will end up having your heart!”
“As a latecomer to The Glitter Challenge 2026, I missed the initial bonding of the group, but I was made to feel so welcome,” explains Donna who made up for lost time and quickly caught up.
“It’s a weird and wonderful feeling being amongst a group of women all working towards something as challenging as writing and performing stand up.
“The process was incredible. I went from thinking, “I’ll never be able to pull this off” at the beginning to “OMG, I don’t want it to end!” on the night. We all grew, supported and found strength together. It was female empowerment at its finest!
“I’d urge anyone to take the Glitter Challenge. We’ve all got something to say!”
‘What an experience!!!,” Agathe commented our self-styled Norwegian ‘Man in Finance’ on her LinkedIn profile.
“I did my first ever stand up at the Edinburgh Fringe last week. I initially signed up to get rid of my stage fright (for work related presentations). Now, after having made people laugh on stage in front of 80+ people, nothing scares me!!”
Katie’s response is heartfelt: “Through all the doubt, fear and discomfort. The uncomfortableness of feeling worthy to take up space on a comedy stage. The rewrites, the tears, the physical training…
“One of the hardest and most rewarding things I have ever done. Followed by an incredible stay at the Fringe – an experience that has changed me forever.”
“I came back for a second year because my first experience was completely eye-opening in terms of what I could achieve for myself,” says Harriet who took the bold decision to take the Glitter Challenge for the second year running and headline the show.
“Stepping outside my comfort zone was so empowering that I wanted to return to hone my skills, take on a bigger stand up performance, and push everything to the next level.
“The Funny Women team is wonderfully supportive and caring – I felt completely held and looked after throughout the whole process. Working with my amazing mentor, Lucy Ryan, along with Lynne and the rest of the team, made the experience sheer joy from start to finish. Performing in Edinburgh is so magical; every time I leave, I feel like I’ve gained a new lease of life and I’m super excited to see what comes next!”
With grateful thanks to our amazing team of comedy mentors led by Lucy Ryan aka ‘Ivy Paige’: Monica Gaga, Louise Leigh, AJ Stubberfield, Pauline Eyre, Nic Lamont and Mariana Feijo.
As well as being our lead mentor and managing the programme, Lucy Ryan hosted the show in her guise as the unflappable international showgirl, ‘Ivy Paige’.
Commenting on this year’s experience Lucy says “The Funny Women Glitter Challenge has been one of the most rewarding and joyful experiences of my career. Comedy is the vehicle, but confidence, connection, and courage are at the heart of it.
“Watching these women step outside their comfort zones, discover their unique comic voices, and perform at the Edinburgh Fringe was an absolute privilege. There is something incredibly powerful about watching somebody do something they once believed they couldn’t.
“And beyond the show itself, I’ve loved spending time with the cohort during our time at the Fringe. Seeing shows together, laughing together and, as Danni so perfectly put it, sharing a flat that somehow turned into a glorious comedy sorority of women. I absolutely loved it.”
Grateful thanks also go to our colleagues Kirstin Miller, Toni Millum and Kelly Griffiths for the admin support, website coverage and TLC during our stay in Edinburgh.
The biggest thanks of all go to Lynne Parker, pictured above, the founder and driving force behind Funny Women for her belief in women’s talent to be truly funny, her ability to make the seemingly impossible happen and creating this Challenge.
We are already recruiting for the 2027 Glitter Challenge, so if you would like to know more about how you can take part, please email info@funnywomen.com with ‘I’m up for the Challenge’ in the heading.
You can see this year’s Glitter Challengers performing again in their Edinburgh Fringe transfer show at the iconic Comedy Store London on Wednesday 30th September. Booking details will be available soon.
Picture credit: Hela Wozniak-Kay #HelaIphoneSnapper @totallyhela @sistersnog
