Our ±«Óãtv Comedy grants are £5k grants for targeted comedy outreach and inclusion activity across the UK. Focussing on underrepresented groups, the grants aim to increase ±«Óãtv Comedy’s engagement with organisations, groups and projects that support growth, connectivity and increase engagement in comedy. We have 10 grants available.
Who and what they’re for
They are for small organisations, groups or projects engaged in comedy focused outreach activity prioritising underrepresented groups across the UK. We recognise this last year has been challenging for freelancers, so will be especially keen to support projects which have a focus on freelancer development and engagement.
Who they’re not for
The grants are not for individuals to develop a project, to develop a specific individual, or production companies to develop ideas.
Why are we’re doing them
We see them as an opportunity to increase ±«Óãtv Comedy’s engagement with companies, organisations and new talent from across the UK who want to support growth and access opportunity in comedy.
How to apply
Applications were open between Thursday 11 January 2023 and Wednesday 31 January 2023 at midnight.
Find out more about our 2023 and 2024 grant recipients below.
2024 grants
Afro Comedy and Mixer
Organisation that pushes for greater representation and acknowledgement of live comedy within the African, Nigerian diasporan, and minority communities in Scotland. The grant will be put towards a Comedian Development Programme which will cultivating talent who want to get into stand-up. Specialised workshops and sessions focussed on skills development will be led by a veteran comedy writer and performer from a minority background who will guide the performers to find their unique voice and craft compelling sets.
Fem De La Femme
All-women comedy line up night which platforms comedians from the North West and beyond. They will be expanding their Find Your Funny workshops which will also be delivered to local women's charities and services. Their goal is to launch Liverpool's first women's comedy festival next summer.
Female Pilot Club
Founded to amplify women's voices in TV comedy and give women writers the chance to prove their jokes and characters by having their comedy pilot scripts read out to audiences made up of writers, producers and comedy lovers. Female Pilot Club will be hosting a script call out and using the grant to specifically focus on seeking projects from new writers from working class backgrounds.
Funny Women
Event and mentoring project to be run at the Edinburgh Fringe. The project will help develop new comedy talent and build their confidence to pursue comedy careers. The project will provide emerging comedians with the opportunity to learn about running and promoting shows from experienced peers via networking events and mentoring opportunities.
Komedia Kids
Organisation in Brighton, delivering workshops for children in the local community. They work to build their confidence, giving them opportunities and experiences within the creative industries that includes performing, writing and working backstage. This grant will go towards a 12-week comedy workshop programme, offering mentoring for young aspiring comedians and writers.
MilkTea
The community-led screening label which showcases the best of East and Southeast Asian (ESEA) film and television in the UK will be launching a comedy lab to develop emerging ESEA creators working in comedy. The two day event will have a showcase of ESEA comedy, an industry panel with TV commissioners, and a masterclass with leading ESEAs already working successfully in the comedy industry.
Screen Yorkshire
Three focused networking and comedy community building events to be run across their focus regions of Yorkshire, the North East and North West. These sessions will be targeted at comedy talent (writers/producers/performers/directors) who have an interest in producing work for screen. This will be an opportunity for comedy talent to meet production companies and stakeholders and gain industry insights around commissioning.
The South Asian Comedy Collective
Bradford based comedy group that meet weekly to write and share stories before they take to the stage to share new material with members of the local community. With the proceeds of the grant they will be expanding to increase the engagement of South-Asian writers from across the district, introducing guest speakers to share tangible experiences of being in a writers’ room and demystify the industry for newcomers. The overall objective will be to host the Mega South Asian Comedy Night, to take place in Bradford towards the end of 2024.
Theatre in the Mill
Bradford-based arts organisation committed to developing, supporting and presenting socially responsible art and performance. They will be organising comedy workshops for women to develop their comedy skills and act as an experimental space for developing new comedy tropes. They want to enable more women to develop their comedy skills and will recruit a cohort of up to 30 participants.
You Can Laugh You Know
Disabled-led comedy organisation based in West Yorkshire which runs comedy nights and introduction workshops centred around accessibility. With the grant they will increase the number of disabled artists from Yorkshire by hiring specialist comedians who understand access to run workshops that will elevate disabled people based in West Yorkshire who are new to comedy. They will continue to host monthly shows featuring a mix of local and national talent, so new acts can learn and network with disabled peers, including established artists.
We are also supporting two groups for a second year with smaller grants of £2.5k to help build on the work that their grants started last year:
Best in Class is a North West based organisation supporting working class comedians. They are using the second year of funding to move the project into more focused groups to help develop skills for writers’ rooms.
Your Cinema is a platform dedicated to showcasing the work of talent from diverse communities. This year the grant will support a focused comedy development session with 30 writers and producers from underrepresented communities.
2023 grants
Best in Class
North West based organisation supporting working class creatives in the region by hosting events and sessions to upskill working class comedian for development for screen. Delivering in 2024.
Our ‘Writing Class’ project will support 30 working class stand-up comedians writing comedy for TV and radio. We will hold a one-day workshop to demystify industry jargon, meet other professionals and give tangible experience of being in a writers room.
Comedy 50:50
London-based organisation expanding their work with female writers to include female directors. They will be providing events on directing for women in areas outside of London. Delivering in 2024.
The Coven Comedy
Organisation developing women, gender minorities and queer voices in comedy in Northern Ireland. Delivering in 2024.
Cultural Comedy Tours
North West based group supporting disabled writing talent in comedy by staged comedy workshops specifically for people who identify as living with disabilities.
We worked with a number of disabled/neurodivergent participants to create their own three to five minute piece of live comedy informed by the Lowry Theatre and Art Gallery in Manchester. This culminated in a public event where audiences were given a guided tour of the art gallery from a professional comedian and each of the participants. The aim of the project was to support neurodivergent and disabled creatives who had little experience in the comedy sector as well as bringing in comedy fans that wouldn’t usually visit a gallery. All of the participants said that this scheme was beneficial to their development and will continue to pursue writing and performing comedy.
Fat Panda
Northern Irish comedy group working on visability and inclusion for young people in Greater Belfast by developing sketch comedy workshops in schools. Delivering in 2024.
We are working with two schools to bring comedy writing workshops to A-Level drama students, bringing some of NI's best comedians and comedy writers together to deliver practical skills sessions on writing comedy, pitching sketches and sitcoms, acting and shooting sketches and demystifying the industry for newcomers. In 2024 we’ll deliver workshops with the aim of seeing students release their own sketches online. The workshops also promote inclusivity and diversity, especially for under-represented social groups.
Felt Nowt
North East based comedy organisation supporting LGBTQ+ comedians by extending their programme to focus on workshops for LGBTQ+ comedy performers in the region.
We identified that the North East comedy scene needed more representation from the LGBTQ+ community, who may feel marginalised. Working within the local LGBTQ+ community we delivered two sets of activities: one for adults and one for under 18s. Both groups received five workshops covering a range of comedy writing and performing topics designed to unlock creativity and provide a safe space for attendee participation. At the end of each course attendees who felt ready participated in a showcase performance to demonstrate what they’d achieved.
Gwneud (Make Do)
North Wales based comedy school. The grant supported the launch of the creative facility which helps create paths for adults and young people into comedy.
Since starting Gwneud Make Do we have been overwhelmed by the commitment, talent and willingness to learn by all the students. Seeing the progression reminds us why starting GMD was essential, because there is so much potential and ambition. At the back of a chapel, in a village on an island, we have watched students throw themselves into experiences that would seemingly be way outside their comfort zone. They’ve done sketch, improvisation, musical comedy, character building, stage craft, comedy development and so much more, and they’ve done it with style!
Laurels
North East based grass roots theatre group supporting working class voices in comedy, helping to move comedy talent from lower socio-economic backgrounds off social media and into larger scale development.
We used our grant to assist the development of a series of slates of work with working class voices around the ‘Radgie’ theme we are developing. We have staged two performances as proof of concepts, had three new acts feature as part of new material nights with us and now have two additional projects on our production slate because of the help of the grant.
Stepping Stones
A charity based in Pilton, a disadvantaged area in North Edinburgh, working with young parents on a 12 week sketch comedy programme to help inspire for jobs in creative sector.
We support children and their families to build resilience, create support networks, increase their mental and physical wellbeing and reduce isolation. Since 2022 our Young Parents Group have been working with comedian Jay Lafferty to develop their skills in writing and performing sketch comedy. The grant has helped support a 12-week programme focused on developing these skills further and working with a filmmaker to help them record and edit their work. They've also been to see a live recording of ±«Óãtv Breaking the News and are planning a showcase of their work. We've now been able to offer this opportunity to a wider group of parents.
Your Cinema Festival
London-based festival including comedy panel featuring Q&As about social media and comedy aimed at young diverse talent.
The panel was focused on supporting creatives from underrepresented backgrounds to develop their independent projects online into fully fledged TV shows for pitching. The panel featured Adjani Salmon, Jon Petrie and Tanya Qureshi sharing information anout their roles, their vision for ±«Óãtv Comedy moving forward, the differences between having a good idea and crafting a good show, key reasons why some projects get greenlit for a series and others don't, advice for content creators who want to go from short comedy sketches online to crafting TV shows.
2022 pilot grants
The Bank of Dreams and Nightmares
South West based organisation worked with a group of 15 young writers from The Sir John Colfox Academy in Dorset to create a selection of sketches to be presented to ±«Óãtv Comedy commissioners. With the help of professional writers James Serafinowicz and Nat Saunders, the team have explored different types of comedy and broken down elements to create their own unique sketches. Some pitches will be acted out, and some pitched straight, but all will hopefully get a laugh. If all goes to plan, some of the sketches will be made with professional actors to complete the process and reward the young writers for their incredible work. This has been made possible with the help of a grant from ±«Óãtv Comedy and . This type of support directly helps inspire and empower the next generation to believe in themselves and their future possibilities.
Students have gained valuable experience and understanding of the creative process behind the realisation of TV comedy sketches. The opportunity to work alongside and with the support of amazing writers such as Nate and James is a once in a life-time experience for many of our students.
±«Óãtv Comedy Masterclass panel at S.O.U.L. Film Festival
is a festival produced by and for Black British talent, creating a prestigious platform for film and TV creatives and a chance for audiences to see a broader range of Black storytelling. Facilitated by a ±«Óãtv Comedy Grant, The ±«Óãtv Comedy Masterclass panel featured Director of ±«Óãtv Comedy Jon Petrie and inspiring black creatives including BAFTA winner Adjani Salmon, producer Nichola Gregory and writer Nathan Bryon. The event gave attendees a bespoke opportunity to learn from Black creatives working with the ±«Óãtv, including their insights into how to pitch comedy ideas, and promoted the ±«Óãtv as a place where their work will be welcomed and supported.
±«Óãtv Comedy Masterclass panel at S.O.U.L. Film Festival
is a festival produced by and for Black British talent, creating a prestigious platform for film and TV creatives and a chance for audiences to see a broader range of Black storytelling. Facilitated by a ±«Óãtv Comedy Grant, The ±«Óãtv Comedy Masterclass panel featured Director of ±«Óãtv Comedy Jon Petrie and inspiring black creatives including BAFTA winner Adjani Salmon, producer Nichola Gregory and writer Nathan Bryon. The event gave attendees a bespoke opportunity to learn from Black creatives working with the ±«Óãtv, including their insights into how to pitch comedy ideas, and promoted the ±«Óãtv as a place where their work will be welcomed and supported.