Nerves were high for our show on the 8th August. After a month of low audience numbers, August saw us returning to our sell-out status (that is in the literal sense, not that we’ve signed with Netflix to produce 12 stand-up specials about how trans people are the real bigots actually). We had a headliner who is one of my biggest heroes in comedy and I wanted to make sure we curated a show we could be proud of. We had a large number of newcomers to our audience who hadn’t been before who were definitely our target demographic, and I wanted to make sure would come back again in the future!
Turns out I needn’t’ve been worried. The audience were phenomenal, the acts thrived, and even on a personal level this may have been the best MCing I’ve done to date. The new bits landed, the old bits were as good as they ever were in front of new audiences, and my ad libs weren’t half bad either.
But I don’t want to toot my own horn for 1000 words – the line-up, as always, is what really makes this show.
Opening we had the incredible Umby Winters. Fresh off of their immaculate preview show with us and support spot for Maria Bamford earlier in the year, Umby has very much solidified their status as a queer icon for the generation.
Despite by their own admission not knowing what material they were going to do tonight, they absolutely stormed it, kept the energy going effortlessly, and ended on one of my absolute favourite stories they’ve ever told, which expertly blends anecdotal humour, with commentary from a trans point of view, and incredible gags to punctuate. Truly a masterclass in comedy. Whilst happy for their success, I am sadly awaiting the day they are inevitably too big to do our shows any more. Remember who made you! (Kidding obvs, the success is incredibly well deserved, and we are very happy to provide you one of many places you have honed your craft over the years. Umby is a champion.)
After the break we had our 2nd non-binary act of the evening (3rd if you count me) Eden M.W., who we had once earlier in the year covering a spot last minute, and they smashed us wide open like a particularly enthusiastic but reckless top. This time was no different. If anything, the polish and skill was even higher. Whether it’s telling jokes about being a gay pirate, or performing genuinely original magic tricks with the board game Guess Who, Eden kept the audience in the palm of their hand in a way that many seasoned comics would envy. Eden is already incredible on YouTube and Twitch, and they have proven that this very much translates to the live form as well.
Next, we had “The Impish Scribe”, who is one of the friendliest people in the circuit both on and off stage. There’s a knack to being instantly likeable on stage and having the audience invested before you’ve even spoken a word that I admire. I can’t quantify exactly what it is, but The Impish Scribe is already an expert performer.
After the chaos of Umby and Eden, The Impish Scribe provided a lot more accessible humour without sacrificing any of the personality. The Impish Scribe is very good at constructing gags that are very relatable and well communicated that even if your life experience is very different you still feel connected to the narrative. By the time The Impish Scribe had finished her set, everyone was endeared and felt a little bit better than they had done before it – which in my mind is the mark of a good comedian.
Some comedians thrive on technical skill, others on sharp writing, others still on ad-libbing with a well defined and engaging persona. The Impish Scribe does all of this well, but at the heart of it she’s just a fun, uplifting act who the world frankly needs more of in this day and age.
And finally, of course we had our immaculate headliner: Bethany Black.
I won’t go on for too long, as frankly I can’t endorse her enough, and her following is magnitudes larger than ours so it’s not like our endorsement would really help her in any meaningful way. But I will say that if you’re not already following Bethany Black, you are missing out. A voice beyond generations and a person who’s existence makes the world a less scary place for young trans people – and a fitting headliner to a line up that was 50% Trans and Non-binary millennials, contrasting the experiences of being trans in the 90s vs today, and highlighting how things have gotten worse as well as how they have gotten better, and effortlessly making the whole room laugh along the way. A one-of-a-kind comedy hero.
This show was a great end to one of the busiest summer’s we’ve ever had, with previews, shows and streams all at once for the first time since we started. I’m already excited for the incredible shows we’ve got lined up for the year ahead.
The next is on the 12th September with another queer icon: Sam Lake. Queer icon probably goes without saying if they’re headlining our gig. Even the cishet ones are queer icons by association. But nonetheless Sam is great, and we also have a stacked line-up including guest MC and Blizzard favourite Katie Mitchell, Kieran Lawless, and a couple of newcomers to our show Justina Seselskaite and Dan McKee. Tickets are available from here: https://www.outsavvy.com/event/10026/blizzard-comedy-live-featuring-sam-lake
Or catch our next Twitch stream on: https://www.twitch.tv/blizzardcomedy on the 29th August with team captains: Kirstie Summers & Quenby Harley, and guests Umby Winters, Kieran Lawless, Mabel Slattery and Ian Lane.
