Funny Women has announced that it will be continuing The Glitter Project supporting female creatives, thanks to public funding granted by the National Lottery via Arts Council England.

Launching a fresh initiative this Autumn, as an extension of The Glitter Project, ‘A Safe Place’ will provide a series of Mentoring Meetups and Open Mic nights across six locations: London, Medway, Brighton, Birmingham, Bristol and Manchester.

‘A Safe Place’ follows the success of Funny Women’s inaugural Glitter Project - a mentor programme giving female performers practical advice for navigating the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2024. Funny Women was jointly awarded the Jones Bootmaker (ISH) Edinburgh Comedy Awards Panel Prize in recognition of the project’s positive impact on artists at the festival.

Similarly, ‘A Safe Place’ monthly events will connect women with female and non-binary comedy performers, writers and creators at a regional level. First-hand advice will be on offer from guest speakers with experience in the comedy industry during the Mentoring Meetups, and the Open Mic events will give female and non-binary performers vital stage time, whether it’s their first performance or an established act looking for ‘a safe place’ to try new material.

The inspiration for Glitter Project is Jo Fletcher-Cross, one of Funny Women’s non-executive directors, who was diagnosed with a grade 4 glioblastoma brain tumour in summer 2022. Until her diagnosis, Jo was performing stand up around the UK and abroad, and delivered comedy and writing workshops. Jo believes everybody deserves a ‘bit of glitter’ in their lives.

Funny Women founder Lynne Parker was recently awarded ‘Most Inspiring Businesswoman’ in the The Best Businesswomen Awards 2024 in recognition of her work championing female comedy careers for over two decades.

Lynne Parker says: “Funny Women is keenly aware of the bigger-than-ever demand for safe places where creatives can work together in person regardless of gender, age, ethnicity and ability.

“Despite our campaigning, women are still underrepresented in the historically male dominated creative industries and there has been an increase in women voicing their experiences of sexism and sexual misconduct across the arts. There is still a need for safe places for all of us at different life stages.

“A longer-term goal is to create a Glitter Fund, an industry-wide initiative supporting those who don’t have the resources, accessibility, or financial means to pursue a comedy career. This is an opportunity for us to come together, support new talent and ensure gender parity in our industry.”

Under the guidance of six regional producers ‘A Safe Place’ will offer women and non-binary participants strategies to increase their confidence and embrace new skills for performance, professional and personal development, and community leadership.

The Arts Council England funding ensures that ‘A Safe Place’ events will be accessible to those on low incomes and attract non-arts-based audiences to support wellbeing and provide an introduction to creative careers. Funny Women plans to extend to other regions, if additional funding and sponsorship is secured.

The next Glitter Project ‘A Safe Place’ Mentoring Meetup and Open Mic event takes place on 28th October at the Museum of Comedy, London. All dates and venues scheduled so far are listed here.

If you would like to get involved or book a slot at an open mic event, please email [email protected]