Summer is over, it’s cold and miserable outside so what better way to cheer yourself up than with a night of comedy? Autumn is traditionally a great time for gigs in the UK, as stand-ups who have honed their routines over a month at the Edinburgh Fringe in August hit the top of their game.
If you’re looking for a place to start, try these 10 female comedians. Between them they represent the breadth, diversity and talent of the scene, hailing from the UK, Canada, America and Denmark. One jokes about her past job as a dominatrix, another about her Nazi grandfather, and another performs in a poundshop parrot suit. Something for everyone, then.
Natalie Palamides
Hailed as “the second coming of Kristen Wiig”, the comedian is a regular at LA’s Upright Citizens Brigade – the comedy improv theatre cofounded by Amy Poehler which has nurtured talents like Kate McKinnon, Ellie Kemper and Aziz Ansari. This summer, she made her Edinburgh Fringe debut with LAID, a surreal show about fertility and motherhood, with lashings of eggs. It won the prestigious Best Newcomer prize at the festival and she brings it back to the UK later this year.
Soho Theatre, London, 6th to 18th November
Mae Martin
This Canadian comedian is very much one to watch – laid-back and compelling. Dope, her latest show, looks at addiction in various forms, from her teenage comedy obsession to drugs and rehab and, eventually, romance. A second series of her Radio 4 show Mae Martin’s Guide to 21st Century Sexuality is on its way, too. Get to know her here.
Soho Theatre, London, to 30th September; then on tour, 10th October to 11th November
Photo: Ed Moore
Bridget Christie
Christie was the first British female to have a stand-up special on Netflix, so this series of intimate, ‘work-in-progress’ shows in London this autumn is a hot ticket. Forensically funny, whether wrestling with feminism or bemoaning Brexit, she’ll make you think as you laugh.
A Preview for Her, various venues, London, 20th September to 12th December
Photo: Idil Sukan
Desiree Burch
New Yorker Burch won the Funny Women award in 2015, having stormed the stage with stories about being “a big woman, a black woman, and a woman woman”. Her latest show, Unf*ckable, delves into her past life as a dominatrix, which she spins off into observations about the British, race relations and cats, obviously.
Soho Theatre, London, 9th to 14th October
Suzi Ruffell
Recently described as “a cheerfully complex lesbian Micky Flanagan” (what?), Ruffell is a sparky stand-up who has gone up a gear of late. Her recent material focusses on class – how her working-class upbringing in Portsmouth doesn’t sit all that easily with her middle-class life in London. She also has a genuinely funny joke about going for a smear test – who would have thought it? Get to know her here.
The Bullingdon, Oxford, 30th September; check her website for further gigs
Katherine Ryan
If you own a television, you cannot have missed Katherine Ryan, loud, proud and permanently on a panel show. Now Canada’s answer to Joan Rivers is back doing what she does best in Glitter Room, her first new live show since 2015’s Kathbum (which you can watch on Netflix). Expect zingers.
Glitter Room, 21st September to 25th November
Sophie Willan
Spinning laughs out of darkness is Sophie Willan’s specialty. Her debut show last year, On Record, dealt with her years in and out of care, as the daughter of a heroin addict. This year’s, Branded, sees her share tales from her brief foray into sex work. If that sounds a bit heavy, Willan’s winning Bolton charm and knack for storytelling make it nothing of the sort. Quite unique. Get to know her here.
Frog and Bucket, Manchester, 19th October; check her website for further gigs
Elf Lyons
“I’m on Prozac!” says Elf Lyons as she performs a one-woman Swan Lake, in French, with puppets, while dressed as a parrot. Not for everyone, perhaps, but Lyons is a gifted clown and one of the more unusual talents to emerge from this summer’s Edinburgh Fringe, where she was nominated for Best Show. Who knows what she’ll do next.
Soho Theatre, London, 28th November to 2nd December
Photo: Andy Hollingworth
Jayde Adams
Adele lookalike, opera singer and all-round funny girl, Jayde Adams is a force of nature from the West Country. She raps, she does tai-chi, she rocks a Spandex leotard and Dawn French has called her “the third funniest woman in the world”. Go to one of her shows and you might find yourself on a date with her, or in an audition to be her new best friend.
The Mix, Walthamstow, London, 28th September; check her Twitter for further dates
Sofie Hagen
Cofounder of the Guilty Feminist podcast with Deborah Frances-White, Hagen is a brilliant stand-up who is as at home talking about her teenage Westlife obsession (her performance of the fan fiction she wrote for the band is one of the funniest things I’ve seen) as her adult anxiety attacks. Born and raised in Denmark, her new tour tells her story of growing up with a Nazi grandfather.
Dead Baby Frog, touring from 6th October 2017 to 3rd February 2018
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