Comedy preview: A Series Of Psychotic Episodes, radio

Radio comedy is largely populated by plummy World Service voices doing skits that sound like unironic Mr Cholmondley-Warner sketches from Harry Enfield's TV series, so the different tone and voice of Miriam Elia's A Series Of Psychotic Episodes really stands out.

Written by Harry Deansway. The Guardian, 1st November 2008

Rising stars 2008: Meet the bright young things set to light up the stage this autumn

The winner of this year's BBC Witty & Twisted award, Miriam Elia has pretentious liberals in her sights. "Like the ones who ask, 'War: what is it good for?' I can tell them: installing a liberal western democracy." A trained graphic designer, the 25-year-old is developing an animated film for the BBC, and her art-school background is a source of inspiration for her comedy too. "A lot of my radio sketches are based on visual ideas, a bit like collages where lots of different things come together to make a monster." Expectations are high for her forthcoming radio show A Series of Psychotic Episodes. In the meantime she is resting on the laurels of a nomination for a Sony Radio Academy award ("I got quite a lot of recognition and a new dress") and recovering from her first Edinburgh festival. How was Edinburgh? "It was an emotional rollercoaster. Or to avoid a cliché, let's call it an emotional dodgems." Comedy heroes/mentors Neil Edmonds, formerly of Perrier-winning sketch group The Consultants, and Mark Thomas. "Mark and I just wrote a sketch together over the phone about comedy suffragettes. Their demands are Jokes For Women."

The Independent on Sunday, 7th September 2008

The head of the heard: Radio comedies vie for Sony Award

An unknown comedian has been shortlisted for the biggest prize in radio comedy - alongside the likes of Paul Whitehouse, Mark Thomas and Mitchell and Webb - with her first ever show. Miriam Elia landed a six-part series on digital channel BBC 7 after winning the corporation's Witty And Twisted competition last year, which sought new writers for radio. Now her show A Series of Psychotic Episodes has been nominated for the prestigious Sony Award for radio comedy.

Chortle.co.uk, 10th April 2008