Last night we were at the beautiful Duchess Theatre in Covent Garden to celebrate the 2017 Funny Women Awards! We had the brilliant Jan Ravens hosting and 10 fantastic finalists who gave the judges a very hard job deciding who would be crowned the winner.
Chloe Petts got the show started, putting us betas in our place and giving a hilarious show and tell of her teen wardrobe. Dubliner Ashlee Bentley had the monopoly on audience laughs with her tales of cheating before Maisie Adam took to the stage revealing her tall girl dreams. Lily Phillips mooned over the wonders of environmentally friendly sanitary wares and Jodie Mitchell entertained us with some very surreal stories of being a working-class transplant in Cambridge. Megan Shandley explained why Megan is a hard name to interpret.
We then had a word from our charity partners, the wonderful Laura Haynes from UN Women, who shared with us the work UN Women and the HeForShe movement does.
Glaswegian Susan Riddell checked we weren’t robots and discussed what she’d like to be dishwasher safe. Amy Mason impressed us with her post-natal knowledge, giving us some insight as to why she is a brilliant comedian and not a medical doctor… and effervescent Turkish Geordie Louise Young ended the show on a high!
While the judges deliberated 2016 Funny Women Award winner Harriet Braine demonstrated exactly why she won before Chloe Petts and Susan Riddell were announced as the runners-up. But the crown went to Thanyia Moore who explained why a New York trip made her realise her privilege. We grabbed a chat with our 2017 Funny Women Awards winner!
Funny Women: How does it feel to win the Funny Women Awards?!
Thanyia Moore: Best feeling in the world! I was so shocked when my name was announced that I froze! Great evening!
FW: Can you describe your comedy style?
TM: I’d like to think I’m a fun-loving storyteller, who likes to shock sometimes.
FW: What’s next for you comedy-wise?
TM: Get to Edinburgh! Hopefully get an agent and take over the comedy world, mwahahaha!
FW: Any advice for comedians thinking of entering the 2018 Awards?
TM: DO IT! If you’re scared and you want to do a competition, the Funny Women Awards is the one to do!
Needless to say, all the acts were incredible and put on a wonderful night. Thank you to all our finalists and our winner! Remember their names (fame!) because you’re going to be seeing a lot of them in the future.
Photography Credit: Constance Lightman
