email jill@jill-edwards.co.uk
“Jill’s classes have become my comedy backbone – when talking to up and coming comics I hear Jill’s voice emerging.”
Workshop graduate - Hannah Chambers now runs her own top management agency, representing amongst others Jimmy Carr.
“I wouldn’t have had the guts to do it without Jill.”
Workshop graduate - Hal Cruttenden Perrier Newcomer Award Winner, Hollywood Reporters’ “find of the year” at Montreal Comedy Festival.
“Jill helped me to get together my first five minutes of material, also being on the course meant that I had invaluable support from Jill and other people on the course as I found my feet on the comedy circuit. But above all, the experience was immense fun and I would recommend it to anyone interested in stand-up comedy”
UK’s first female Iranian comic - workshop graduate Shappi Khorsandi
“It completely changed my whole life and my perception of my abilities in every way.”
Workshop graduate Jenny Colgan – now best selling comedy author
“When I signed-up for the course I never intended to make a career out of it all. I did it for fun. I would definitely recommend the course I did which was Jill Edwards’. Above all it’s an opportunity to find your feet in a nurturing environment rather than a hostile one. You develop skills just through practise and experience.”
Workshop graduate and now top comic Simon Evans talking to the Guardian after his success in Daily Telegraph Open Mic Award 1998
“I still can’t believe how much me and the group learnt from Jill’s course. Little by little each week, by the end of her course, she had ensured we were a group to rival any new act night! It’s amazing how she works with people in such an unthreatening but non-patronising way. I loved being part of Jill’s course. A year on, I realise just how much I learnt and I can’t recommend her highly enough. What I love about Jill is that it’s not about ego or competition or ambition or individuals – she just genuinely seems to want everyone on the course to be funny and to get on stage and have a go. I think that’s what makes her approach unique.”
Workshop Graduate Liz Carr – international comic, columnist and host BBC’s “Ouch!” “You and Yours” Radio 4, “Abnormally Funny People”
"All of us profess a love of comedy, but few claim to understand the mechanics of being funny. It seems Jill Edwards has the answers."
Steve Bustin, the Pink Paper
“Without Jill Edwards, I would not be the comic I am today. But don’t let that put you off.”
Workshop graduate Paul McCaffrey – Winner of The London Papers Hot New Act of the Year 2008.
“Jill Edwards has complied what must rank as the most sought-after course in existence, teaching students everything from how to write their first funny line, to how to die gracefully when performing it! One of the most valuable and beneficial aspects of the course is Jill’s personal experience of working as a comic on the circuit and the specialist knowledge she has gained and is willing to pass on to her students”
Cheryl Gabriel, producer Radio 4
"It is safe to say that I would not be doing stand-up comedy today if it wasn’t for Jill Edwards. Her support has been invaluable to me. Even today, having graduated from her Comedy Workshops, I know that Jill is always just a phone call away if I need a chat about the comedy circuit. But she also gave me the confidence to trust what I think and go with my instincts. I came away from Jill’s course feeling confident, not just about comedy but about myself. It offered an incredible platform to learn and most importantly to make mistakes; behind closed doors and with invaluable support and guidance not just from Jill but from other students. Jill really cares about her students and treats everyone equally. The writing and performance skills I learnt on the course were invaluable. It would have taken so many gigs to nail things that seem so simple and I now take for granted. It’s the fast route to becoming a comic."
Workshop graduate Seann Walsh - now Winner Best Chortle Newcomer Award 2009, Nominee Best Breakthrough Act 2010, Best Compare 2011. TV incls. Mock The Week and Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow 2010.
“If it wasn’t for Jill Edwards course’ I just wouldn’t be a stand-up. It’s all her fault.”
The UK’s only deaf comic – workshop graduate Steve Day
“… She did a comedy course. It changed her life. She says: We had to do a “Rant and Rave”… It was an unbelievable moment – a turning point. I had always tried to ignore my disability (mild cerebral palsy). Suddenly, I could talk about things I had never acknowledged, and the ideas just flowed … I did a showcase in front of 80 people, shaking like a leaf. It went brilliantly…” “It’s a really practical course not just theory. It’s a great step on the road to being a comic. Jill is a great teacher. I recommend it to anyone who has the slightest interest in comedy.”
Workshop Graduate Francesca Martinez – Observer's “fastest-rising female comic in the country” talking to the Mirror after winning Daily Telegraph Open Mike Award 2000
“The workshops run by Jill Edwards rapidly gained a reputation among new comics as the place to go for anyone with serious hopes of getting their act together.”
Malcolm Hay, Time Out
“Jill Edwards is absolutely brilliant at showing you how to get started. Jill is a great teacher and instils each student with confidence and a realistic belief in themselves as well as enhancing the most important thing – individuality. I have done amazing things since leaving Jill’s course, which include appearing on “Have I Got News For You?” touring Holland, Germany, Denmark and Belgium, worked with Oprah Winfrey, written newspaper articles and took part in ‘The Vagina Monologues’ at the Royal Albert Hall. When I stood there in Jill’s class in front of 20 students I never envisaged any of this!”
UK’s first female Muslim stand-up comic – workshop graduate Shazia Mirza
“It is impossible to overstate the inspiring brilliance of the Jill Edwards stand-up comedy workshops at Komedia. It’s fair to say that this course is to Brighton’s buzzing live comedy community what the Comedy Store was to the 1980’s. Tutor to many big-name professional comedians, Jill Edwards should be celebrated and saluted (in any order) for nurturing the current crop of high-calibre local comics. Book a place if you can, it’s the best way to start.”
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