Hi Lizzie. Who are you and what do you do in comedy?
I am a stand-up comedian and have a masters in scriptwriting that I don't use. I am most often found on the London circuit where I have been regularly performing since 2022. I have progressed from bringer open mics to non-bringer open mics and the occasional open spot at a club where I might get paid.
I have had modest success in competitions, and very varied success at gong shows. I won the clap off at the first Beat the Frog I attempted and then immediately crashed out at the World Series. The competition accolades I have earned, which you can see repeatedly in my profile, but I can repeat here (BBC New Act Shortlist 2024, West End New Act Finalist 2024, 2x Leicester Square Finalist 2023, 2024) I will milk for all they're worth. I'm now on the books of Mansford Comedy Club, which is getting me out of bed in the morning.
I found a love for long-form ticketed comedy (it turns out when an audience comes specifically for your schtick they're more receptive to it) so in 2025 I will be taking a 45 minute show to Brighton Fringe and then ultimately to Edinburgh for the Free Fringe.
Tell us about how you first became involved in the comedy world.
I began doing stand up when I joined the Lincoln Comedy Society in 2016. I wanted to do a scriptwriting masters with the understanding I would learn how the industry worked and how to write a sitcom. I would say it accomplished about 50% of both, which is good odds for modern academia.
I ended up taking the stand up far more seriously than I intended as I have continued to do it since graduating. I liked how you could get immediate feedback for a joke and it definitely made me a better writer, more receptive to what audiences respond to. It also turns out it's much easier to get your friends to watch your stand up than read your script. I currently work in TV production, while doing stand-up on the side.
Tell us about your comedy favourites.
I had an unhealthy obsession with The Mighty Boosh when I was 10, probably brought about by my pubescent feelings about a 33-year-old Noel Fielding. I also used to watch classic Suzy Izzard specials like Dress to Kill and Circle regularly... mostly cause they were the ones we had on DVD. I definitely had a perchant for the surreal and whimsical when I was a kid, but it hasn't hugely influenced my comedy. I think it definitely set a precedent of not conforming to societal norms, whether in regards to gender or linear storytelling. Unless it turns out anyone, I'm talking about is a nonce, in which case, disregard.
Getting into my pre-teen years I found comfort in two very specific, but different medias. One was listening to DVD commentaries from American Dad Seasons 2 and 3 and learning about the process of writing an episode. That fascinated me and definitely got in my head I wanted to be a comedy writer.
I also enjoyed watching the British (and original) version of Whose Line Is It Anyway? It had this level of silliness that was timeless and didn't rely on being topical like a lot of other British comedy that I was watching and listening to, like Mock the Week and the News Quiz.
As I pursued stand up myself, at first I was very attracted to dry and sardonic British stand ups like Simon Amstell and Stewart Lee. But I found myself gravitating to comics that shared my personal experiences. I was enthralled with a series of female comics (I was far too late on the Victoria Wood train but my god that woman was a brilliant writer). I would say my direct influences are comics like Josie Long, Allison Spittle, Felicity Ward and in particular, Fern Brady.
How has your act evolved, for the better, since you started out?
Like most comics, I started out trying to emulate who I admired. I call it "the Stewart Lee" phase. Every comic goes through a Stewart Lee phase, in fact some never leave there. It's an overuse of meta comedy and trying to be self-referential. There's a reason Stewart Lee cannot be imitated.
With more performing experience, I realised audience enjoyed when I was blue, unfiltered and silly. But I did have this problem of showing how much I cared that the audience liked me in my demeanour and it didn't do me any favours.
Eventually I observed that my best gigs tended to be the ones I put let pressure on myself to impress, the ones where it seemed like I didn't care if the audience lived or died. Now I wouldn't recommend having this approach to anyone, I'm a very non-threatening 5'2 chubby ginger lady. The idea of me thinking I'm better than anyone is inherently comedic. But it worked. Audiences began to respond to me the way my persona suggested they should.
What's the best advice you've ever been given, read or heard?
The best advice I ever got was from Phil Jupitus. I don't know him personally, he was mates with my university lecturer, and I'd just won my heat of the Chortle Student Comedy Award so I was on a high and taking myself, a bit more seriously than I probably should have considering the best joke I had at the time was bad pick up lines.
He told me that "audiences owe us as much as we owe them" and it stuck with me. It's exactly what I needed to hear. What I interpreted it to mean, is that a show is a two way interaction. An audience have to be willing to accept your act for what it is, they have to go in with the intention of having a good time. They can't expect a random entertainer to cater to their specific humour and bring it out of them. You're just trying to find out what works.
This really helped me stop taking it personally when a gig went badly or I didn't get through in a competition (marginally). "But isn't it your job to entertain?" Sure. But people judge in 7 seconds whether they're with you.
What are your hopes for your current comedy projects?
I just want them to be seen and developed. I have a script I want to develop to show off my writing skills and keep that screenwriting dream alive.
I want my WIP/Edinburgh Show to be seen and enjoyed by someone I don't know. A random stranger. Edinburgh Fringe has not been the big breakthrough for acts for quite some time now. I don't see this as a big break or a big money maker. But I'd like the experience of putting my art there and the chance of it being seen.
Where would your family be most surprised to find you?
Comfortably driving a car.
Where would your family be most surprised to find you?
The ability to ask for more wishes despite Genie rules.
Published: Thursday 16th January 2025