Stand Up with Women: Latitude Festival and ActionAid announce comedy gig to beat January blues in support of women and girls leading change.
This January, Latitude Festival and international charity ActionAid will bring some of the best comedians in the UK – and the world – together for a virtual stand-up comedy gig in support of women and girls leading change.
In an effort to beat the January blues, Rosie Jones, Shazia Mirza and Kelly Convey will be performing in the online event on Thursday 21 January. There will also be a set from global comedy star Lepacious Bose in Nigeria – with more acts to be announced in the new year.
Latitude Festival and ActionAid have been working together for six years to inspire festival-goers to stand up for the rights of women and girls around the world. This year, amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, they’re launching “Stand Up with Women”, which will be Latitude’s first-ever online event.
Money raised from Stand Up with Women will go to support ActionAid’s vital work in over 40 countries, helping to end violence and fight poverty so that all women, everywhere, can create the future they want.
Orla Fee from ActionAid UK says, “Right now, millions of women and girls around the world are fighting for their freedom, their futures and even their lives. Covid-19 has made a bad situation worse, deepening inequalities and exposing a hidden pandemic of violence and poverty.
But in communities large and small, away from the spotlight, women and girls are leading the change. With ActionAid's support, they are building a new world – one that’s safe and equal. We’re so excited about Stand Up With Women and incredibly grateful that money raised will go to support ActionAid’s work standing with women and girl leaders.”
Tickets for the two-hour show will be available from actionaid.org.uk/stand-up-with-women from 10 am Wednesday 16 December. Tickets are £7.50 (early bird) and £10 from January onwards.
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For further information or interview enquiries, please contact frankie.harrington@actionaid.org or if out of hours call +44 (0) 7753 973 486.
Comedian biographies:
Rosie Jones
With her infectious laugh and high energy, Rosie Jones has quickly become a must-see act on the UK comedy circuit. The ex-television researcher was awarded second place in the Leicester Mercury’s New Comedian of the Year Award 2018 and has gone on to star on Live at the Apollo, The Jonathan Ross Show, 8 Out of 10 Cats, 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, The Last Leg, Rosie Tries To Help, Live From The Comedy Store, Joe Lycett’s Got Your Back, Comedy Central UK’s Roast Battle, Mock the Week and Hypothetical.
Rosie has completed two sell-out runs at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with both ‘Fifteen Minutes’ and ‘Backward’ receiving critical acclaim, including The Scotsman describing the former as “both elegantly crafted and mischievous to its bones”.
Shazia Mirza
Shazia is an award-winning British stand-up comedian and writer who works internationally. She has performed stand-up shows worldwide including in Europe, America and Asia.
Listed by The Observer as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy, Shazia’s writing has won her the prestigious PPA Award’s “Columnist of the Year” for her writing in The New Statesman. Other publications she writes for include; The Guardian, The Financial Times, The Daily Mail, New Internationalist, the Chicago Tribune and the Big Issue.
Shazia has been an ActionAid supporter for a number of years, including performing in the ActionAid tent at Latitude Festival back in 2016.
Kelly Convey
Previous tour support for Adam Hills, Alan Carr and Russell Kane, Kelly Convey is a regular on the UK comedy circuit. Her bold and outspoken routines are based upon her working-class childhood contrasting with her now middle-class adulthood.
2020 was set to be “her year” with her comedy career taking off, her wedding a few months away and moving into a new home. A year full of cancellations has given Kelly a very interesting new perspective that she can’t wait to share... eventually!
Kelly has performed at ActionAid’s tent at Latitude Festival as well as regularly supporting the international charity’s campaigns and fundraisers.
Lepacious Bose
Bose Ogunboye aka Lepacious Bose began performing during her student days and is now a household name in the Nigerian comedy industry. She has performed at major shows in her home country as well as Accra, Nairobi, Kampala, London, South Africa and America.
Alongside comedy, the law is another life-long passion for Lepacious Bose who is currently Chief Legal Officer at the Independent National Election Commission which is committed to free, fair and credible elections in Nigeria.
Lepacious Bose performed and compered at ActionAid Nigeria’s charity’s concert and peace walk in 2018 to mark Global Peace Day. She is also a United Nations Youth Ambassador for world peace.
Known for her feel-good comedy, Lepacious Bose is an exciting, original act and we can't wait to introduce her to more comedy fans in the UK.
About ActionAid UK:
ActionAid is an international charity that works with women and girls living in poverty. Our dedicated local staff are changing the world with women and girls. We are ending violence and fighting poverty so that all women, everywhere, can create the future they want.
About Latitude Festival:
The multi-award-winning Latitude festival will return to the picturesque grounds of Henham Park, Suffolk, on 22nd-25th July 2021. Headliners Lewis Capaldi, Bastille and special guests Snow Patrol top a diverse bill where music meets the arts in a full-on cultural explosion.
The festival is renowned for nurturing big-name comics and bright new talents and some incredible names will be announced for the Comedy Arena next year. Latitude Festival has partnered ActionAid for the six years.