The 2007 NIVEA Funny Women Awards, again offers new female comedy stand-up talent the chance to be discovered. The hugely successful awards, taking place at 15 events across Britain this spring, are now in their fifth successive year and provide the perfect opportunity for the funniest women in the land to establish a career in comedy. With a leading beauty brand as new sponsor, The NIVEA Funny Women Awards raise funds and awareness for a variety of causes that aim to help and heal women, this year Ovarian cancer action.
The new talent showcases start in London on 8 May and give even the most nervous of stand-ups the opportunity to take the plunge and perform in front of a live audience. Entries are encouraged from all over the UK with regional showcases taking place in London, Brighton, Birmingham, Manchester, Bristol, Edinburgh and Dublin.
And after two semi-finals, the winner – who must have been performing comedy for less than three years - will be chosen at London’s Comedy Store on 2 July.
Producer Lynne Parker explains: "Our competition is now a major fixture in the comedy calendar. We’ve already received more than 70 entries this year before formally launching. Nurses, teachers, bookkeepers, IT professionals and mums at home of all ages, ethnicity and backgrounds, are embracing the opportunity to become Britain’s funniest woman. It’s wonderful to see contestants who may start out with little courage on stage, but with a great comedic instinct, become real stars by the time they reach the finals in July. Last year’s winner Suzy Bennett is typical. She had less than 10 gigs to her name but by the time she reached our final, her natural talent for comedy just shone through.”
The awards are being sponsored for the first time by leading beauty brand NIVEA, who see this as an ideal opportunity to support and empower women on many levels, while emphasising their philosophy of beauty from the inside. Joanne Mintz, NIVEA’s Marketing Manager says: “At NIVEA, we see that ‘beauty’ has many aspects and most definitely comes from within and laughter is a great way to express this, so teaming up with female comedy is the perfect partnership.”
Lynne couldn't be more enthusiastic about her new sponsor. "Having a leading beauty brand as a sponsor of the NIVEA Funny Women Awards is a dream come true. The brand’s values of nurturing beauty and laughter are the same as ours. I couldn't be more delighted with their support."
First prize will be a week’s holiday for two at the five-star contemporary boutique Londa Hotel in Cyprus with club class British Airways flights and £500 spending money. The winner of the NIVEA Funny Women Awards will also perform at the Londa as part of the increasingly successful Funny Women tour at the hotel which is attracting big audiences on the island. Two runners-up will each receive £500 cash.
Zoe Lyons, winner of the 2004 Awards and now a successful stand-up, will host this year’s charity final at the Comedy Store on Monday 2 July.
“Winning this award gave my career in stand-up a total boost,” she remembers. “It also gave me the confidence to carry on in stand up - I now run two successful club nights and work full time in comedy, which for me fulfils my dreams.”
Other previous winners include 2003 winner Sarah Adams, who performed as Jade The Folk Singer, and Debra-Jane Appelby, who won in 2005.
The NIVEA Funny Women Awards are supported by Paramount Comedy and Handbag.com.
To enter the competition visit www.funnywomen.com or call 07913 546129 to register.