Me with Funny Women founder Lynne Parker
Something funny happened to BritMums Tuesday night. It was the Funny Women Awards Charity Final, which I attended in Leicester Square, London. Funny Women helps bring new women onto the comedy scene and is celebrating its 10-year anniversary. There were awards for stand-up, musical comedy, sketch and character.
I was thrilled to be a judge on the panel in the comedy writing category – a category which was won by Sarah Courtauld for her script ‘The Slush Pile,’ loosely based on her experiences working in publishing. Sarah won a £500 option on her script and the opportunity develop her skill with a mentor.
The evening began with a gathering for a glass of fizz, provided by sponsor Blue Nun, at — suitably enough — The Groucho. Then everyone decamped to a nearby theatre to watch the acts for final judging. It was buzzy, thrilling fun, supported by top writing and comedy talent, including folks from Channel 4, Radio 4, the Guardian’s Comedy Gold column and the editor of Cosmopolitan. The entire evening was in support of Women’s Aid.
When I arrived, Lynne Parker, the executive producer and founder of Funny Women, was wearing a very fetching balloon head ornament, courtesy of a — what to call her? — balloon stylist is probably the best word. Lynne was a judge for the BritMums Laugh! Award this past June and is a strong promoter of female talent. She writes for the Huffington Post, tackling such topics as whether it’s ok to joke about rape.
If you’re interested in comedy performance or writing, or just enjoy a good laugh, keep your eye on Funny Women and its award winners.
About Jennifer Howze
Jennifer Howze is the Creative Director and co-founder of BritMums. She blogs about family travel at Jenography.net, tweets at @JHowze and Instagrams at @JHowze. Previously, she wrote the Alpha Mummy blog at The Times and as a journalist has contributed to The Times, The Guardian, The Independent, The Wall Street Journal, Travel & Leisure, Budget Travel, CNN.com, Allure, SELF and Premiere, among others. She won The Maggie Award from the Planned Parenthood Federation of America for a health article in Seventeen magazine.