The comedy circuit has traditionally had the reputation of being a ‘boys’ club’ associated with lads, laughs and lager.
However, with the likes of Teresa Livingstone, Emer Maguire, Serena Terry and Brónagh Diamond currently enjoying major mainstream breakthroughs, it’s clear that women are shaking up the comedy scene in Northern Ireland.
“There’s definitely more female comics coming through now than there was when I started,” Teresa Livingstone tells The Irish News.
Read more: Belfast comedian Teresa Livingstone on Take That, Tina Fey and Brian Regan
“Which is fantastic because if you’re doing a gig and there’s a couple of women on the bill everyone is just judged on how funny they are – there’s no pressure of being the token female comedian.
“If you’ve got a full and diverse line-up then you know the audience is there to enjoy comedy rather than a specific comic.”
Teresa was first “bitten by the comedy bug” after attending an improv class at Belfast’s Crescent Arts Centre in 2013. Since then she has built up a dedicated fanbase with her unique blend of stand-up and comedy songwriting based upon an exaggerated gin-fuelled stage persona.
“At that stage you didn’t have things like Instagram or TikTok so there was almost less pressure in that sense,” she recalls.
“And because I hadn’t seen a lot of the stand-up scene in Northern Ireland, I wasn’t influenced by it, so I was just going in and doing my own thing and because I was doing something a bit different, I think that helped me establish myself.”
However she admitted that being a woman in comedy can be challenging because “you’re not allowed as much of a grace period to be bad”.
“Even now when I go on stage there will still be people in the room who go, ‘I don’t think women are funny’ – which is insane.
“So, if I’m not getting a good reaction quite soon into my set people tend to tail off.
“Whereas I think men are given a bit more leeway by audiences in the sense that they won’t change their opinion of the entire gender based on one bad act.”
This sentiment is shared by fellow musical comedian Emer Maguire, who arrived on the comedy scene in 2019.
“I think there are still some audiences who aren’t receptive to comedians who are women,” she tells me.
“Because the amount of men who stay behind after my shows and say, ‘Oh my days, that was actually hilarious’, is wild, and I know it’s because I’m a girl.”
Read more: Tyrone musical comedian Emer Maguire on the power of laughter
Dubbed as ‘an indie Victoria Wood’, the former speech and language therapist describes her route into comedy as “a happy accident”.
“When I was working as a speech therapist I was doing a few talks and music gigs on the side and people started telling me my songs were really funny,” explains Emer.
“They weren’t meant to be – they were heartbreak songs – but off the back of that people started to call me a comedian.
“And to be honest I was bit reluctant at first to be called a comedian because I thought if you’re a funny musician it’s a nice surprise, but if you’re comedian you’re kind of pressurised to be funny – particularly if you’re a female comic.”
Similarly, Derry comedian and viral sensation Serena Terry says the comedy scene can be very daunting for women.
“There’s a reason it’s a male dominated industry, and it’s not because ‘women aren’t funny’,” she says.
“It’s a daunting environment for a woman on her own and it’s extra hard if you’re a mum with kids.
“You have to be prepared way in advance to make sure the kids and everything back home is running smoothly.”
Serena shot to fame after posting light-hearted videos on her Mammy Banter TikTok account during the pandemic, which centred around the trials and tribulations of family life. Since then she has amassed more than 4 million followers on social media and embarked on a stand-up career in 2022.
Read more: Derry comic Mammy Banter is a total sell-out
“My route to stand-up comedy wasn’t the normal route most comics take due to the online following I’d already built through my social media channels,” Serena says.
“But I’ve no shame in that because it’s just the way the world is post-Covid, with everyone spending so much time on social media.
“It’s definitely a lot ‘easier’ to get discovered and market yourself but you do need to be dedicated, in tune with your audience and continually creating content and material that’s engaging and relatable.”
Adding to this advice, west Belfast born comic and Irish News columnist Brónagh Diamond says women in comedy “don’t need to do a set around that fact (they’re) a woman”.
“My comedy obviously includes stories that go hand-in-hand with my experiences as a woman but I don’t feel the need to talk about my period as some defiant act of feminism to the men in the audience - I feel like it’s the female equivalent of guys doing d**k jokes,” she says.
“There is so much humour to be drawn upon in the absurdity of modern living that there’s no need to go over things that have been done to the death.”
Read more: Brónagh Diamond: The long road from giving birth to sharing mirth
With a background in drama and creative writing, Brónagh’s mix of satire and storytelling has captivated live audiences.
“I always wanted to do comedy - it was on the bucket list,” she enthuses.
“I often joke that I got into stand-up when I stopped drinking because I needed to find a new way to humiliate myself but essentially it was the need for a creative outlet after having my kids and feeling time-poor.
“I was sitting in the car one night listening to the radio and I remember wishing I had been a musician as they can just write and perform their music on the spot if they wanted and I thought about if there was anything like that in my industry.
“That’s when I figured that comedy can be pretty much go page-to-stage - so I wrote a 10-minute set, performed it at the Pavilion [on Belfast’s Ormeau Road] and never looked back.”
Brónagh also believes that being a woman in the industry can help give you a “leg up”.
“Comedy in NI is tough because there are so many really funny and well-established acts over here already so it’s just about carving out your own niche and having good material,” she explains.
“If anything, being a good female comic can give you a leg up because any good promoter will want to have a woman on their bill - but the thing is, I don’t want to be a diversity hire.
“If I’m on a line-up, I know it’s because I can cut it with the rest of them and that I’ve earned my spot there.”
