magazine

Amy Lamé’s Unhappy Birthday

17th May 2012

 

Funny Women are really big fans of BBC London presenter, co-founder of cult club night Duckie, and all round fantastic performer Amy Lamé. So it’s no surprise how excited we are about her new show ‘Unhappy Birthday,’ in which she invites us to an imaginary birthday party, where the guest of honour is Morrissey. But will he turn up? And what does it take to be a fan of the infamously difficult Morrissey? A “Waiting for Godot for the pop generation,” as Amy described to the Guardian earlier this month. We can't wait to see it at Edinburgh!

 “Unhappy Birthdaycracks open the cult of celebrity and fandom; flays fat, faith and sexual identity; probes the pains of growing up; and cross examines a curious nostalgia for a time that may never have existed except in the bedroom of our imagination.”

 

Amy Lamé is performing Unhappy Birthday at various venues nationwide. You can find a full  list of dates HERE.

 

Photo by Tom Sheehan

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‘Ladies live longer: Ladylike’ Edinburgh preview show

16th May 2012

 

Funny Women are always thrilled to see acts develop, and watching Ladies Live Longer (Funny Women Variety Award 2011) start their Edinburgh preview shows is no exception! The Ladies have gone from strength to strength this year after being shortlisted for Laughing Horse New Act of the Year. What better springboard for their preview show ‘Ladies Live Longer: Ladylike’ at the Canal Café Theatre?

‘Ladylike’ is a window into the world of the winners and losers of life.  The Ladies entertain, gesticulate, satirise, howl and sing.  Half characters, half stand-up, half audience participation, part cultured, yet crass.  (Please note deliberate avoidance of the words women, musical or sketch although it will contain all three.) ((PS that bit didn’t count it was in brackets))

YOU will love them…. However they’re likely to offend the person sitting next to you.

'Ladies Live Longer: Ladylike' is on at the Canal Café Theatre 7^th-9^th June, 7.30pm. Book online HERE or call 020 7289 6054.

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Women un-gagged at grass roots level

15th May 2012

 

We are always thrilled when we get great coverage for our events and over the last few weeks, we’ve had some particularly great press for both the Funny Women Awards and our Brighton Nights showcase at Komedia.

Sarah Rainey wrote in the Telegraph about one of Awards heats and paid credit to comedy at ‘grass roots’ level.  She writes this about our show:

“What struck me most was the variety of acts. From a hotpants-wearing duo to an Australian call-centre worker, an Austrian making jokes about Josef Fritzl and a ukulele-playing mother-of-two, these were female comedians like none I’d seen before. Instead of giving squeaky-clean, polished – and, frankly, dull – performances, they were rude, likeable and, actually, really funny.”

She goes on to say in respect of her preference for male rather than female comics:  “I may still prefer Michael McIntyre to Sarah Millican, but there’s a lot of taboo-breaking female comedy out there that deserves recognition. With so many emerging female comics determined to make their mark, the country’s funny women could well be having the last laugh.”

We couldn’t agree more!  Read the full article from the Telegraph HERE.

In Brighton, we regularly sell out our Brighton Nights showcase but we’re always happy to squeeze in a few members of the media!  This account from BroadwayBaby.com cheered us no end!  All credit to Julie Jepson for her brilliant booking, and new producer, Rosanna Farrar who makes sure the night goes with a swing. The proof is in the pudding as Jessica Lax’s review demonstrates.

“One problem that I find with comedy is making sure that everyone’s tastes are catered to,” Jessica writes.  “There’s always the prude who blushes at the dirty jokes or the more outgoing ones, shouting out alternative, ruder punch lines and it seems unavoidable that someone’s sense of humour is left unsatisfied. However, search no longer because this comedy show provides something for everyone!”

We couldn’t have said it better ourselves, so ‘thank you’ BroadwayBaby.com. Read the full article HERE.

 

 

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Tips for Comedy Writing

14th May 2012

 

We are very excited to have multi-award winning comedy production company The Comedy Unit (Rab C Nesbitt, Burnistoun and Gary Tank Commander) on board for this years Funny Women Comedy Writing Award. And for you budding script writers out there, they have provided some great tips for completing your comedy script.

 

1.     HAVE AN ORIGINAL IDEA
Sounds daft, but don’t write a comedy script around an idea that’s already been made. Love in different cities – Gavin and Stacey! Young couple, first house – Him and Her! Market traders who live in a high rise – Only Fools!  This is the hardest bit. But when you’ve got that spark the rest is easy.
 

2.     ACTUALLY HAVE AN IDEA
Sounds even dafter but if you can’t distil the idea of your comedy show in to an interesting short, one line billing that would sit nicely in the Radio Times then you don’t actually have a clear enough idea.
 

3.     HAVE AN IDEA PEOPLE WANT
Not as daft as the above, but the web is full of BBC’s commissioning guidelines, press articles about what the comedy commissioner at Sky wants, websites dedicated to announcing new comedy series being green lit on radio… there’s comedy trends and wish lists out there and with a bit of research online you can get a feel for what people are after.
 

4.     WRITE WHAT YOU KNOW / WHAT YOU BELIEVE IN
That said don’t write about something you don’t know. You have to be passionate about what you’re writing. I’ve never written a comedy about a Zoo because I don’t ever go to the Zoo and I’ve never worked at one. Don’t start me on Zoos!
 

5.     DON’T OVERWRITE STAGE DIRECTIONS
We don’t need to wonder what that strange scent of autumn that hangs in the air is as we focus on a boutique red table lamp that the camera sweeps past to settle on a recently polished brown leather couch. You’re in a nice living room… get on with it… write jokes!
 

6.     DON’T OVERWRITE IN GENERAL
A lot of scripts fall down because the writer doesn’t edit down big monologues as they feel they are packed with laughs. More often than not there are a couple of gags that could go and plotting that could be more easily explained. Always look to tighten.
 

7.     CHARACTERS SHOULD BE CLEARLY IDENTIFIABLE
It’s amazing how many characters in scripts I read speak the same as the other characters and have the same voice. An old test is to cover the character name in the script and just read the line… you should know who said it.
 

8.     NO LONG CHARACTER DESCRIPTIONS
Short pen portraits are fine, and a bit about their arc is okay, but essentially a character should sing by themselves in the script (not literally unless they are musically inclined).  Essentially the script shouldn’t need a handbook to explain it. Audiences don’t get one so why should the reader.

9.    NUMBER PAGES

Common sense but makes it easier for readers to discuss.

10.  TRY IT OUT

Your pals and your family are your harshest critics. Get them over, buy some booze, read it out in the living room, laugh at everyone’s bad acting and then get them to tear it to shreds. Whether you take it all on board or just one wee thing that your brother said… open yourself to criticism, evaluate the points, change some, stick to your guns on others… and it will be submitted in a stronger state.

 

We are now accepting submissions for the Funny Women Comedy Writing Award 2012. For more information and to register for the Awards, please visit the Writing Award page HERE

 

Pictured: The Comedy Unit's Bafta award-winning Gary: Tank Commander and Burnistoun