The Funny Women Awards Gala Final sponsored by Sky Studios is set to take place on Thursday 29th September at London’s Bloomsbury Theatre, hosted by Thanyia Moore. The awards will also be streamed online via Next Up Comedy.
These awards are a unique opportunity to see the start of some amazing careers. The best acts were chosen from over 450 entries and the 10 Stage Award finalists are Anshita Koul, Fathiya Saleh, Jessie Nixon, Julia Stenton, Kate Martin, Leah Davis, Lorna Rose Treen, Marjolein Robertson, Sharlin Jahan and Tatty Macleod.
On the night, not only will the Stage Award finalist will be crowned, but the other four Funny Women Awards will be presented. Amongst the prizes for all of the Awards is £1000 for each winner.
The Comedy Writing Award sponsored by Sky Studios will be choosing the winner from these Top 3 finalists. Magical Extinction- Ruby Carr; Wasteland – Nicki Lucas ; Beth’s Din – Ellie Silver. Chosen from over 160 scripts, as per last year, Sky Studios is offering development support for the winner.
The Comedy Shorts Award supported by London Short Film Festival is pleased announce that the Top 3 finalists for 2022 are Lorelei Mathias – Creative Writing; Lorna Rose Treen – My Entertainment Badge and Sarah Grant & Katrina Allen – New Mum’s New Toy. The winner will be announced at the Gala Final. The Winner will be awarded a screening at the London Short Film Festival. The Shortlist for 2022 can be viewed at https://funnywomen.com/awards/lists/comedy-shorts-award-supported-by-lsff-shortlist-2022/
The Funny Women Industry Award supported by Comedy 50:50 and The Comedy Crowd was created to recognise the women amongst our oft unsung heroes of comedy – the gag, sketch and additional material writers, and the producers, developers and creators who are at the forefront of television, radio and digital entertainment. This award has been nominated by industry figures and will be presented on the night. They will join Sophie Duker (Winner 2021) and Christine Rose (Winner 2020) celebrating the talent and tenacity of the women performers, writers and creators, who have overcome the clearly disproportionate barriers to entry to succeed in this highly competitive field.
Last year’s awards were truly global with the winner of the Stage Award, Lara Ricote being a mix of Mexican, American, and Venezuelan. Lara went on to win this year’s Dave’s Edinburgh Comedy Newcomer Award. As the returning winner Lara will perform a headline set at the final.
The 2022 awards have seen entries from Romania, UAE, Luxembourg, Estonia, New Zealand, Switzerland, Sweden, Spain, Canada, Italy, Iceland, France, Denmark, Belgium, Germany, Australia, USA, Ireland, Netherlands, UK.
Expanding the global reach of the Funny Women Awards, the winner of the heat Content Creator award will be announced. This award is a publicly nominated & voted for prize looking for new voices that might otherwise be overlooked by mainstream networks. Hidden Gems of comedy that you find on social media networks. In 2021 Funny Women received over 82,000 votes for the final 16 artists and the 2022 shortlist and voting form can be viewed at: https://funnywomen.com/awards/vote
Created in 2003, the Awards have become an important launch pad for many talented performers. Past Awards alumni include Katherine Ryan, Jayde Adams, Roisin Conaty, Sarah Millican, Sara Pascoe, Zoe Lyons, Bridget Christie, Susan Calman, Sindhu Vee, Rosie Jones, London Hughes, Desiree Burch and Game of Thrones actress Gemma Whelan.
Funny Women are also continuing to support TIME’S UP UK as its charity partner: An organisation that insists on safe, fair and dignified work for everyone, run by a group of UK-based women: actors, activists, producers, writers and others from the film, TV and theatre industries as a sister initiative to TIME’S UP in the US.
The organisation shows women from all walks of life how comedy builds confidence. Strongly believing in equal rights and opportunities for all; Funny Women has been empowering female-identifying voices, for 20 years contributing to gender parity in the comedy industry and beyond.
GALA FINAL TICKETS: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/culture/whats-on/funny-women-awards-2022
