Last night (May 18th 2023) saw London’s first LGBTQ+ stand-up comedy festival open to a sellout crowd. The launch event featured some of the best-loved names on the queer comedy circuit and raised much-needed funds for Rainbow Migration, a charity which supports LGBTQI+ people through the asylum and immigration system.
Sarah Keyworth opened the show getting the crowd in the mood for an excellent night of lesbian, queer and non-binary comedy. The show was closed by Jess Fostekew with a brilliant stand up set, which showed why she is one of the top comedians in the LGBTQ+ community and beyond. BBC New Comedian of the Year finalist, Dee Allum also shared her first-hand experiences of coming out as trans and received a fantastic response.
Victoria Olsina of Clandestina Queer Comedy, a queer women, trans and non-binary led comedy show at London’s Seven Dials Club co-produced the night with Comedy Bloomers. She said: “I am thrilled that we had such an amazing turnout for this first time festival launch. We offered an opportunity to showcase the best of our community in a loving and supportive environment. The crowd showed their appreciation throughout making it a very special night of comedy”
Chris Smith, of Comedy Bloomers added: “What an amazing evening! We showcased just a handful of the comedic talent that exists as part of the LGBTQ+ community and the crowd was blown away. It is a genuine privilege to be able to provide a dedicated platform to queer talent and we can’t wait to see how the rest of the festival unfolds.”
The LGBTQ+ stand-up comedy festival runs until June 11th at a selection of venues throughout the city.
www.comedybloomers.com/festival
Festival schedule
21.05.23 – Work in Progress at 2 Northdown, N1 Heleana and Sophia Blackwell: Wife Material
21.05.23 – Work in Progress at 2 Northdown, N1 Tom Mayhew: This Time Next Year, We’ll be Millionaires
24.05.23 – Comedy 21 Soho, W1 Ella Vaday’s Elluva Comedy Night: A Night of Queer Comedy
31.05.23 – Work in Progress at 2 Northdown, N1 Liz Guterbock
01.06.23 – Queer Comedy Club, N19 Queer Comedy
02.06.23 – The Two Brewers, SW4 All Bar Huns
04.06.23 – Work in Progress at 2 Northdown, N1 Sally Ann Fellows: Alien
09.06.23 – Work in Progress at 2 Northdown, N1 Dick Denham: Big Dick energy
11.06.23 – Seven Dials Club, WC2 Comedy Bloomers Festival Finale
