Deirdre O’Kane became a stand-up comic in 1996 and easily found her way in to the finals of the BBC New Comedy Awards of that year. She has played at the Edinburgh Festival every year since including 2001 where she not only performed her own solo show, Deirdre O’Kane is Crystallized, but also the two-hander ‘Tis Pity She’s Anonymous’. She has also played The Melbourne, Adelaide and Kilkenny Cat Laughs Festivals and has toured the Middle East, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Prague, Brussels and London.

“Unique star quality” – The Guardian

Deirdre O’Kane began her career as an actress and has played every major theatre in Ireland as well as touring in Australia, Canada and the UK. Leading roles include Mary in Juno and the Paycock (National Theatre), Miss Funny in At the Black Pig’s Dyke (Druid Theatre Co.) and Daphne in Present Laughter (Gate Theatre).Television credits include hosting the ten-part TV series of stand-up comedy and sketches called The Lounge (RTE) which included guests such as Rich Hall, Adam Hills, Jeff Green and Dara O’Briain. She also played the role of Fiona in Owen O’Neill’s sit-com The Fitz (BBC).

In 2001 Deirdre (described in the Sunday Times as “absolutely superb”) played the leading role of Helen in Paths to Freedom, a six-part spoof-documentary for RTE/BBC Choice and last year starred in the RTE comedy series, Fergus’s Wedding.

2002 was an incredibly busy year for Deirdre. In July she appeared at the Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal which was edited into a short series for RTE hosted by Ed Byrne. In August it was back to Edinburgh with her second solo show and more rave reviews…

Quotes about Deirdre O’Kane

“won the audience over from the moment she opened her mouth” – Metro

“Deirdre O’Kane is an instantly charismatic stage presence and her brand of day-to-day anarchism stormed the place” – Three Weeks Magazine

September was filled playing the part of Noeleen in the feature film Intermission with Colin Farrell, Cillian Murphy, Colm Meany and Kelly McDonald. Produced by Neil Jordan’s Company of Wolves, it is due for release internationally later this year.

Also in 2002, Deirdre O’Kane toured extensively around Ireland with Pat Shortt and released her debut video Deirdre O’Kane, Live At The Olympia (EMI). This year she plans a nationwide tour, kicking off with six nights in Vicar Street where she will be recording her second video for release in November 2003.

“O’Kane quickly sets up a rhythm of her own and when she exits, applause follows her all the way down the street” – The Scotsman

She is also know in the US for her regular, hilarious appearances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (NBC), as Madame Yashere, The Surly Psychic.

What you don’t know is that Gina Yashere’s sellout live appearances are legendary. Her bombastic delivery, infectious personality and cheeky observations have wowed audiences not just in the UK and the US but also in Japan, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, Canada, South Africa, and all over Europe.

Gina hails from London via Nigerian parents and shoots from the hip. Her unique take on being both a cultural insider and outsider never fails to raise the roof. Following an early career as a elevator engineer, Yashere made her comedy debut at the Edinburgh Festival in 1996. The show sold out almost immediately and overnight both audiences and critics were smitten.

Since those early heady days, Gina has continued to take the comedy world by storm and is now one of the most highly sought after comics in the UK and the US, selling out theatres all over the UK, releasing her critically acclaimed DVD ‘Skinny B*tch’, and making numerous appearances on TV, radio, and the big screen.

Her TV appearances have included her own 1 hour Comedy Special ‘Skinny B*tch ‘(SHOWTIME), The Jay Leno Show (NBC), The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien (NBC), Last Comic Standing (NBC), Chelsea Lately (E!), Live at Gotham (Comedy Central), Def Comedy Jam (HBO), Comics Unleashed (ABC), The Mobo Awards (UK Host), Mock The week (BBC UK), The Lenny Henry Show (BBC UK), and The Celebrity Fame Academy (BBC UK). Radio shows have ranged from her own BBC Radio London Show to critically acclaimed radio Sketch show-The Powder Room (BBC Radio UK).

Feature films have included Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Mr. in Between. She has also appeared on the West-End stage in The Vagina Monologues.

It’s a wonder she found the time to pick up her 3rd award in a row for “Best Female” at the recent Black Entertainment & Comedy Awards (UK).

She has also performed numerous times at the prestigious Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal and Toronto, and at HBO and TBS’s The Comedy Festival in Las Vegas.

Gina recently played a principal character in the TV series in the UK entitled ‘Married Single Other’ which is currently being aired on ITV in the UK, and in Australia.

She is currently developing a sitcom with the BBC in the UK, and is working on a comedy documentary.

Apart from her numerous stand-up appearances on television and radio, she has received worldwide recognition for her part as HOLLY the computer in the hugely successful BBC comedy series, RED DWARF and most recently starred as Lizzie Gillespie in BBC 1′s JONATHAN CREEK.

Her television appearances include stand-up shows from FRIDAY NIGHT LIVE to SATURDAY LIVE, panel games from CELEBRITY SQUARES to HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU, plus documentaries including BACK TO BEDLAM with Jo Brand.

Hattie Hayridge has written articles for magazines and national newspapers, and for various TV and radio artists, including RORY BREMNER, JASPER CARROTT and LEE EVANS. Her autobiography “RANDOM ABSTRACT MEMORY” is published by Penguin.
As of 2007, Hattie Hayridge was performing stand-up comedy in the UK, most recently in a brand new show at the Underbelly as part of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Quotes about Hattie Hayridge

“Deceptively timid comedienne whose shy wit masks a razor edge humour. An iron fist inside a velvet glove.” – Daily Mail

“She has terrific material. Lots of people can rant effectively on stage, but well-thought out, witty lines like hers are a rarity.” – Sunday Times

“She’s clever on stage and she has a lot more bite than you first expect. Hattie reminds me of those James Bond sexy villains. Right when it looks like she’s about to kiss you, Hattie drops a tarantula down your pants.” -  Time Out

Isy Suttie was born in Hull in 1978 and raised in the town of Matlock, Derbyshire near the Peak District. She attended the Guildford School of Acting where she honed her skills that are so evident today.

With a career starting in song, Isy Suttie was regional winner for composition in the Daily Telegraph Young Jazz competition in 1995 and winner of the Julian Slade Songwriting competition in 1998.

Isy Suttie took to acting and comedy in the mid 2000s, performing in the stand up showcase ‘The Comedy Zone’ at the 2005 Edinburgh Fringe. That same year she was nominated for a Chortle Award for best newcomer.

In 2006 she returned to Edinburgh, acting in Danielle Ward’s Take A Break Tales. The following year, Isy took the plunge into solo performance with her show ‘Love Lost in the British Retail Industry’ and also in 2008 with ‘The Suttie Show’.

Isy Suttie brings tales of middle England to the stage through characters and songs that make you feel all warm and cosy inside and at the same time give you an insight into the minds of the middle class.

Coming across like an indie Victoria Wood, a comparison that Isy is more than flattered by, she recounts the thoughts of the fictional villagers, who will burn men just for being a stranger and carrying a gnome, on the assumption that he must be a paedophile and therefore live on the Isle Of Wight and others who lay claim to supermarket aisles as their place to dance.

Isy also won’t hesitate to use the ramblings of her mother, who writes to her daughter with all the gossip of the council leaflet.

Best known for her portrayal of Dobby, the IT misfit and one time love interest of Mark Corrigan in the award winning Peep Show, Isy was nominated for Best Female Newcomer at the 2008 British Comedy Awards for the role.

She has also acted in Channel 4′s The Incredible Will and Greg and BBC2′s The Trouble With Love. Isy Suttie uses her vocal talents on a number of voice-over programmes too, on CBBC, BBC1′s Walk On The Wild Side and Channel 4′s Penelope Princess of Pets.

In addition to this, Isy is an accomplished writer, working on Out To Lunch on Radio 2, The Now Show and The Alternative Women’s Institute on Radio 4 and, most notably, as a comedy consultant for Channel 4′s teen drama Skins.

Musical comedy is a difficult art to pull off. Isy Suttie achieves laughs all round without ever forcing it. Her warm comedy is akin to an evening in front of the fire, albeit with a somewhat sinister undercurrent.