99 Club opens Female and Non-binary Comedians' Bursary 2019
The 99 Club is offering a bursary for female and non-binary performers taking their first full length solo show to the Edinburgh Festival.
This will be the third year the club has run such a scheme, with two acts set to receive an award of £500 each.
Shortlisted performers will appear in a showcase at 99 Club Leicester Square on Tuesday 30th April 2019, where the recipients will be decided. The event will be judged by a panel including Hollie Ebdon (Ebdon Management), Cath Gagon (Avalon Management) and Steve Bennett.
With six different West End venues, The 99 Club is London's biggest employer of stand-up comedians.
They say: "Over the years we've been lucky enough to host performances by amazing, highly talented female comics like Sara Pascoe, Ellie Taylor, Sarah Millican, Sarah Silverman, Luisa Omielan, Katherine Ryan, Zoe Lyons, Kerry Godliman, Roisin Conaty, Holly Walsh, Shappi Khorsandi (with Roisin, Holly and Shappi having been resident MCs for us) and many many more.
"We know that there will be many more talented female and non-binary comics out there who we look forward to working with in future. We also know that it's important to take concrete steps to support female and non-binary performers.
"In March 2017 and 2018, we were official partners of the UN Women's HeforShe gender equality campaign, and ran a comedy show to raise both funds and awareness in conjunction with their 2017 and 2018 HeForShe Arts Weeks.
"Last summer we hosted our second Female & Non-binary Comedy Bursary showcase featuring: Adele Cliff, Catherine Bohart, Sarah Keyworth, Olga Koch and Jenan Younis, with the two main recipients being Sarah Keyworth and Catherine Bohart. Sarah went on to be nominated for the Best Newcomer award at the Edinburgh fringe, as well as winning the 2019 Chortle Award for best newcomer. Catherine went on to appear on The Mash Report, as well as with Sarah on Comedy Central's Roast Battle.
"We are now delighted to announce a third bursary for female and non-binary performers taking their first full length solo show to the Edinburgh Festival."
Details and an application form can be found at 99clubcomedy.com/bursary
The deadline to apply is 16th April 2019.
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