I have recently returned from a trip to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe (actually if you are reading this at all promptly after posting then the likelihood is that I have not returned and am currently on a train eating a sandwich with difficulty because I have a slight overbite). While there I saw some fantastic female comedy talent. While it wasn't surprising to me that all of Edinburgh seemed to have been plastered in posters advertising all kinds of shows, I was surprised at how many of these were for women's stand up shows. These were glossy, witty posters, no surprise there as the Fringe is incredibly competitive, for women. These same women were treading the cobbles everyday handing out flyers and then many were performing to pretty respectable audience numbers. So why then at Fringe Central was there a panel asking about women in comedy at the Fringe?
Well, unfortunately it became quite clear why there was such an event, as part of the new Breaking Down Barriers series. The Fringe is pretty hard for everyone. Whether you're a performer, promoter, producer or reviewer (etc etc) you are inevitably running on adrenaline due to lack of sleep, show overload, deadlines and a severe lack of nutrition. Unless you drink Guinness and then I believe you will be rich in iron. However after attending this panel it seems clear that there are barriers to break down for women, people of colour, queer visibility and class. That is by no means the end of the list.
Chaired by Kate Stuart who has worked at the Edinburgh Fringe for almost 30 years, the panel was made up of Lynne Parker of Funny Women, cabaret hostess and singer Lili La Scala and comedian Kate Smurthwaite. Each has been coming to the Fringe regularly. Kate Stuart commented that until she was invited to chair the panel she had "not thought of the Fringe as 'gender specific'".
However when Kate Smurthwaite, who is currently putting both her 8th and 9th show on at the Fringe and has a regular column in the Guardian said she had never been reviewed by a national newspaper it appears that maybe there is a problem. This wasn't another 'Are Women Funny?' event, it was a discussion of the treatment of funny women.
Chaired by Kate Stuart who has worked at the Edinburgh Fringe for almost 30 years, the panel was made up of Lynne Parker of Funny Women, cabaret hostess and singer Lili La Scala and comedian Kate Smurthwaite. Each has been coming to the Fringe regularly. Kate Stuart commented that until she was invited to chair the panel she had "not thought of the Fringe as 'gender specific'".
However when Kate Smurthwaite, who is currently putting both her 8th and 9th show on at the Fringe and has a regular column in the Guardian said she had never been reviewed by a national newspaper it appears that maybe there is a problem. This wasn't another 'Are Women Funny?' event, it was a discussion of the treatment of funny women.
| Now, I have never seen Smurthwaite's stand up. It could be that she is simply not great at comedy. The answer to every knock back unfortunately has to be 'try harder'. As Tiff Stevenson said at the end of her show "Live comedy is a meritocracy". | Don't ask and you won't know if this is sexism or timidity. |
And it is, up to a numbers in the audience point. It is, if we are talking word of mouth. But it is also important, if you think discrimination is involved, to call it out. And Kate Smurthwaite (who, wild guess OK, is good) is brave to do so having achieved a certain amount of success and recognition.
An observation of Smurthwaite's of other women performers is that while their male colleagues go out and ask for the work while many women won't. Don't ask and you won't know if this is sexism or timidity.
Performer Rachael Clerke commented that so far all her reviews from the Fringe referred to her as a girl, meaning she felt she couldn't use them. A woman of colour who had visited the fringe in 2006 noted there were still very few acts on the fringe who weren't white. The cost of putting on a show has also resulted in the white women of the Fringe being predominantly middle class.
A thing I did notice at the Fringe is that women comedians are going on stage and somehow bare their souls altruistically. This is their autobiography but it is not self obsessed, it is reaching out. Mae Martin is talking about her various anxieties, Susan Calman discusses her nervous breakdown and dislike for herself, Abigoliah Schamaun tells of her promiscuity and being bereaved, Tiff Stevenson discusses body dysmorphia, dermatillomania and suicide all for a laugh but also to open up the desperately needed conversation.
We currently have a huge amount of brave, funny, intelligent women on the comedy scene, we all need to be more mutually supportive and louder.
Squeamish Kate
An observation of Smurthwaite's of other women performers is that while their male colleagues go out and ask for the work while many women won't. Don't ask and you won't know if this is sexism or timidity.
Performer Rachael Clerke commented that so far all her reviews from the Fringe referred to her as a girl, meaning she felt she couldn't use them. A woman of colour who had visited the fringe in 2006 noted there were still very few acts on the fringe who weren't white. The cost of putting on a show has also resulted in the white women of the Fringe being predominantly middle class.
A thing I did notice at the Fringe is that women comedians are going on stage and somehow bare their souls altruistically. This is their autobiography but it is not self obsessed, it is reaching out. Mae Martin is talking about her various anxieties, Susan Calman discusses her nervous breakdown and dislike for herself, Abigoliah Schamaun tells of her promiscuity and being bereaved, Tiff Stevenson discusses body dysmorphia, dermatillomania and suicide all for a laugh but also to open up the desperately needed conversation.
We currently have a huge amount of brave, funny, intelligent women on the comedy scene, we all need to be more mutually supportive and louder.
Squeamish Kate
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