Luisa Omielan
LUISA OMIELAN has 2 shows at Edinburgh Fringe 2023: BITTER (Stand Up) and GOD IS A WOMAN, The Musical.
She has been featured in The Guardian, The Radio Times, Forbes, Vogue, The Metro, Stylist Magazine, The Huffington Post, The Telegraph and countless other publications. Luisa is the first comedian to be acknowledged with a BAFTA Breakthrough award.
When and how did you first become interested in performing & doing comedy?
Since the age of about 4. My Grandma was Polish and although it was my first language, I very quickly learnt English to 'Blend in', but watching her laugh at Carry On films, made me so happy. So I just wanted to imitate that, I loved the sound of her laughter. It always made me feel very safe and very loved.
How does BITTER feel different from other work you've created in the past?
My previous shows were on the money and in hindsight, ahead of their time, people still enjoy them now but at the time, audiences loved them but they were dismissed from an industry perspective. I was talking about male suicide and body image and mental health 11 years ago. But my signature was they were empowering, feel good, anthemic, heart on a sleeve comedy shows. That wasn't seen from a woman like me before. And so now 11 years later, I feel more equipped to comment on my work and on life with a brutal honest reflection. Of how much is expected from a woman, how much is enough, when will it ever be good enough? This is probably my most scathing show to date and the trick is to still try and keep it empowering. Hahaha I am working on the latter.
For anyone who hasn't produced their own show at Fringe yet but wants to in the future, what kind of advice would you give them?
To be frank, I think Edinburgh festival is changing and I don't know if I am equipped to answer this any more, having performed over 12 festivals and played all sorts of rooms, from small free ones to giant paid ones. I have never seen the festival so quiet as it is now. I think it has priced people out. SO my advice would be to think like a fringe festival, wherever you can, hire a room above a pub, in your home town, wherever you are based and get on that stage. Perform. Play to an audience, do it for free, just get bums on seats and keep trying to focus on what you can control.
With an unlimited budget, what would your ultimate future dream production look like and what would it be about?
I would film my best of show 'Ten'. I recently self produced my own comedy special. Its called God is a Woman and you can download it from my website. Its a beautiful show about love, grief, losing my Mum, losing faith, body autonomy, buying a dog and friendship. I have all the critical acclaim under my belt now but my best resource is my audience. They helped me by pre ordering, and I literally borrowed a mates meat truck to drive up to Glasgow with my hand made staging and deliver the show. I did everything myself with the help of my neighbour and a bestie.
So If i have an unlimited budget, I would be able to hire people to stage a production of Ten. A proper spotlight engineer, an actual sound team, a stage hand. I would continue to hire my friends who have helped me at every show and pay them, but I would get them much more support. I would hire a producer to help me oversee everything. Record it. Get an edit studio. Oversee an edit with an editor.
Get people who can take care of all the technical aspects of filming and hire a social media team who could help me maximise the release and the profile of the special. So i can do what I do and deliver a great show, but finally get the support to help film it and get it out there.
Alongside that I would hire a team of improvisers and musical performers, spend 6 weeks in a rehearsal room with my current show idea 'god is a woman the musical'. (currently on the free fringe 8.30pm Counting House) I would then hire a theatre off broadway, a tiny one, put the show on for 2 weeks, every night with free tickets to the Girls, Gays and for the anyone who loves the arts but is priced out of it. Let them see it, make them go mad, word of mouth takes off and then Whoopi Godlberg hears about it and calls in her team to produce and finance it. That would be the dream.
Can you tell us about some other female-driven shows you've seen at Fringe this year that you would recommend checking out?
I haven't been to catch any other shows as I find it difficult with doing two a day, but I can tell you who I would highly recommend. Sian Davies is doing a one person show and is a huge advocate for making the art form accessible. Mary Bourke is one of the finest joke writers in the country. Meg Stalter - who just seems like an absolute hoot and is hilarious in everything I watch her in.