We were down south in Brighton for our second 2019 Funny Women Awards semi-final, hosted by Julie Jepson at the lovely Komedia where we hold a monthly showcase Brighton Nights. The competition was especially fierce for this heat and Awards founder Lynne Parker noted that any one of the comedians who performed that night could have gone through, but there could only be one winner on the night and that was trombonist Sarah Mann…
Funny Women: How does it feel to be through to the 2019 Funny Women Awards final?
Sarah Mann: I’m very excited to be in the final! The line-up was so strong in the Brighton semi-final that I was just happy to be there and having a nice time, anything else is a bonus.
FW: Describe your comedy to us.
SM: I mostly just talk about me or things that have happened to me or that have come up in conversation. Luckily, I have had lots of weird jobs which is a great place to start.
FW: What inspired you to start doing stand up?
SM: I always thought I would like to do something in comedy. In my teens, I really wanted to be in a double act or a sketch group – trying stand-up never even occurred to me. I think I had assumed that it just would happen on its own and it didn’t, so I’d sort of given up on the idea. A few years ago, I was playing trombone in an all female orchestra at the Southbank Centre’s Women of the World Festival. On a break between rehearsals, I went out into the festival checking out all the stalls for free pens. I picked up a leaflet (and a pen) from the Funny Women stand, and here we are!
FW: Who are your favourite funny women?
SM: One of the first solo stand-up shows I ever saw was Linda Smith. Truthful, witty writing, perfectly delivered. It’s hard not to go on and on about how great she was. There are so many great acts on the circuit right now. My favourite funny women are usually whoever I saw most recently, which at this precise moment are the team behind the excellent LOL Word (Chloe Petts, Chloe Green, Jodie Mitchell and Shelf).
Join us at the Funny Women Awards Grand Final, Thursday 19th September at the Bloomsbury Theatre, London. For tickets click here!
