Emily-Anne "Elf" Lyons (born 10 June 1991) is a British stand-up comedian, writer and actress. Lyons is the daughter of economist
Gerard Lyons.
Early life
Lyons is the daughter of economist Gerard Lyons. Her mother, Annette, is a painter and she has two siblings.Queen Mary University of London
, mottoeng = With united powers
, established = 1785 – The London Hospital Medical College1843 – St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College1882 – Westfield College1887 – East London College/Queen Mary College
, type = Public researc ...
.[Fisher, Jo]
"BWW Interview: Elf Lyons Talks MEDUSA at Nuffield Southampton Theatres"
BroadwayWorld.com, 11 October 2018 She then studied at École Philippe Gaulier
Philippe Gaulier (born in Paris, 4 March 1943) is a French master clown, pedagogue, and professor of theatre. He is the founder of École Philippe Gaulier, a prestigious French theatre school in Étampes, outside Paris. He studied under Jacques Lec ...
in Étampes
Étampes () is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southwest from the center of Paris (as the crow flies). Étampes is a sub-prefecture of the Essonne department.
Étampes, together with the neighboring ...
, near Paris.
Career
Lyons was the runner up for a Funny Women
Funny Women is an online and in-person workshop community dedicated to the support of female comedians. It was founded by Lynne Parker in 2002 as a reaction to misogynistic comments from a comedy promoter. Funny Women helps women find their voice, ...
award in 2013. Her solo show ''Being Barbarella'' was an IdeasTap award winner at the Vault Festival at The Vaults, Waterloo, before Lyons travelled to Australia to perform it at the Adelaide Fringe Festival
The Adelaide Fringe, formerly Adelaide Fringe Festival, is the world's second-largest annual arts festival (after the Edinburgh Festival Fringe), held in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. Between mid-February and mid-March each year, i ...
in 2015. She was a founder of "The Secret Comedians", a collective who run comedy nights in East London and was a regular compere at the Camden Comedy Club in Camden, London
The London Borough of Camden () is a London borough in Inner London. Camden Town Hall, on Euston Road, lies north of Charing Cross. The borough was established on 1 April 1965 from the area of the former boroughs of Hampstead, Holborn, and ...
. She was a co-director of OddFlock, a London-based theatre company
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perfor ...
made up of a group of Drama graduates from the University of Bristol. She also directed at Riverside Studios, The Lion & Unicorn Theatre, Etcetera Theatre, and was a General Manager of the Finborough Theatre
The Finborough Theatre is a fifty-seat theatre in the West Brompton area of London (part of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea) under artistic director Neil McPherson. The theatre presents new British writing, as well as UK and world pr ...
.
''Vogue
Vogue may refer to:
Business
* ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine
** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine
** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine
** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine
** ''Vogue China'', ...
'' called Lyons one of the five best new British female Comics.[Maitland, Hayley]
"The Five Best New British Female Comics"
''Vogue'', 16 September 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2019 In 2017 her show ''Swan'' was nominated for Best Show at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards
The Dave's Edinburgh Comedy Awards (formerly the Perrier Comedy Awards, and also briefly known by other names for sponsorship reasons) are presented to the comedy shows deemed to have been the best at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland. ...
.[ Stephen Armstrong, in '']The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...
'' wrote: "It was ludicrous and hilarious." Bruce Dessau, reviewing her 2018 musical show ''ChiffChaff'' in ''The Evening Standard
The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format.
In October 2009, after bei ...
'', gave the show four out of five stars. He called Lyons "a compelling physical presence" and judged that "as a loopy, unique mash-up ''ChiffChaff'' is bang on the money". Later in 2018 she performed a new show, ''Medusa''.[ An early 2019 show was called "Love Songs to Guinea Pigs".
She has written for '']The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
''.[Lyons, Elf]
"A new way to love: in praise of polyamory"
''The Guardian'', 22 July 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2019
References
External links
*
YouTube channel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lyons, Elf
1991 births
Place of birth missing (living people)
Living people
English stand-up comedians
English women comedians