Laura Madalene Solon (born April 1979) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

screenwriter, comedian, actress, and winner of the 2005

Perrier Comedy Award 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. ...

. She was the second woman to win as a solo performer, after Jenny Eclair in 1995.

Background

Solon was raised in

Great Kimble Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...

near

Aylesbury Aylesbury ( ) is the county town of Buckinghamshire, South East England. It is home to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery, David Tugwell`s house on Watermead and the Waterside Theatre. It is in central Buckinghamshire, midway between High Wy ...

. She attended

Downe House School Downe House School is a selective independent girls' day and boarding school in Cold Ash, a village near Newbury, Berkshire, for girls aged 11–18. The '' Good Schools Guide'' described Downe House as an "Archetypal traditional girls' full b ...

followed by

Worcester College, Oxford Worcester College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. The college was founded in 1714 by the benefaction of Sir Thomas Cookes, 2nd Baronet (1648–1701) of Norgrove, Worcestershire, whose coat of arms ...

where she received a scholarship to read English and started writing and performing in the

Oxford Revue The Oxford Revue is a comedy group primarily featuring students from Oxford University and Oxford Brookes University, England. Founded in the early 1950s, The Oxford Revue has produced many prominent comedians, actors and satirists. The Revue wr ...

Career

Solon tried being a

stand up comedian Stand-up comedy is a comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up. Stand-up comedy consists of one-liners, stories, ...

but found character comedy suited her better. In 2005 she won the

Perrier Award Perrier ( , also , ) is a French brand of natural bottled mineral water obtained at its source in Vergèze, located in the Gard ''département''. Perrier is known for its carbonation and its distinctive green bottle. Perrier was part of th ...

for her one-woman

Edinburgh Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...

show ''Kopfraper's Syndrome: One Man and His Incredible Mind''. Following this the BBC and

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

were keen to acquire her to produce material for them, and in April 2006 it was announced by the BBC that Solon had been signed to develop projects for them on Radio and TV. The first series of '' Laura Solon: Talking and Not Talking'', a sketch and character comedy series, ran on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC's ...

in January and February 2007. The second series ran in May and June 2008, and the third in November 2009. She recorded a BBC

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

pilot from the creators of '' People Like Us'', featuring '' Man Stroke Womans

Daisy Haggard Celia Daisy Morna Haggard (born 1978) is a British actress and writer. She is known for her roles in the BBC sitcoms ''Uncle'' and '' Episodes''. Haggard stars in BBC Three’s comedy-drama, '' Back to Life'', which she also created and co-wro ...

, called ''Great News''. She appeared in

Harry Enfield Henry Richard Enfield (born 30 May 1961) is an English comedian, actor, writer and director. He is known in particular for his television work, including '' Harry Enfield's Television Programme'' and ''Harry & Paul'', and for the creation and ...

and

Paul Whitehouse Paul Julian Whitehouse (born 17 May 1958) is a Welsh actor, writer and comedian. He was one of the main stars of the BBC sketch comedy series '' The Fast Show'', and has also starred with Harry Enfield in the shows ''Harry & Paul'' and ''Harr ...

sketch show Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. The form developed and became popular in vaudeville, and ...

'' Ruddy Hell! It's Harry and Paul'', broadcast from 2007 on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

. She was seen in a sketch show for

ITV2 ITV2 is a British free-to-air television channel owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc. It was launched on 7 December 1998. For a number of years, it had the largest audience share after the five analogue terrestrial stations, ...

''Laura, Ben and Him'' (2008) with

Marek Larwood Marek Ryan Larwood (born 2 June 1976) is an English comedian and actor. He is best known for the BBC Three sketch show ''Rush Hour'' and for being one third of the comedy trio '' We Are Klang''. Early life Born in Norwich, Norfolk, Larwood lived ...

and

Ben Willbond Benjamin Thomas Willbond (born 18 January 1973) is an English actor and screenwriter best known as a member of the British Horrible Histories troupe in which he appears in the TV series ''Horrible Histories'', '' Yonderland'' and ''Ghosts''. He ...

. She was part of ''

Al Murray's Multiple Personality Disorder ''Al Murray's Multiple Personality Disorder'' is a British sketch show starring comedian Al Murray. The multi character aspect of the show was a departure from Murray's previous television comedy work, as the sole character The Pub Landlord. Th ...

'', shown on

ITV1 ITV1 (formerly known as ITV) is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the British media company ITV plc. It provides the Channel 3 public broadcast service across all of the United Kingdom except for t ...

. Alongside

Tony Hawks Antony Gordon Hawksworth, MBE (born February 27, 1960), known professionally as Tony Hawks, is a British comedian and author. Early life Born in Brighton, Sussex, Hawks was educated at Brighton, Hove and Sussex Grammar School and Bright ...

and

Angus Deayton Gordon Angus Deayton (; born 6 January 1956) is an English actor, writer, musician, comedian, and broadcaster. He was the original presenter of the satirical panel game '' Have I Got News for You,'' the host of British panel show '' Would I Lie ...

she appeared in the feature film ''

Playing the Moldovans at Tennis Antony Gordon Hawksworth, MBE (born February 27, 1960), known professionally as Tony Hawks, is a British comedian and author. Early life Born in Brighton, Sussex, Hawks was educated at Brighton, Hove and Sussex Grammar School and Brighto ...

'', which was recorded in 2010 and released in 2012. In the first half of 2010 she toured with ''Rabbit Faced Story Soup'', a play set in a publisher's office in which she played every character. It contained characters from her radio show, ''Talking and Not Talking'', including Carol Price, a divorcee children's author, and Gwynneth the inept call centre worker. New characters included Marcia, an American super publishing agent. Her award-winning 2010 short film ''

Tooty's Wedding Tooty's Wedding is a 2010 short comedy film, written by Edinburgh Comedy Awards, Perrier Award Winners Ben Willbond and Laura Solon and directed by Frederic Casella. It was screened as part of the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, having been selected ...

'', which Solon co-wrote with

, was screened as part of the

2012 Sundance Film Festival The 2012 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 19 until January 29, 2012 in Park City, Utah. 64 short films were selected for the festival from 7,675 submissions, including 27 international shorts from 3,592 submissions. Non-competition ...

. In 2011 Solon was one of the players in the BBC Two improvisational show '' Fast and Loose'', hosted by

Hugh Dennis Peter Hugh Dennis (born 13 February 1962) is an English comedian, presenter, actor, writer, impressionist and voice-over artist who has appeared in the comedy double act Punt and Dennis with partner Steve Punt. He played Dr Piers Crispin in the ...

''Kopfraper's Syndrome: One Man and His Incredible Mind''

The title is a holdover from an entirely different show that Solon had planned to perform with a male partner. When the partner dropped out she rewrote the show in the three weeks leading up to the festival but retained the title in order not to negate the value of the advance publicity or confuse those who had already purchased tickets. Solon plays eight different characters in the show, which consists of sketches of varying lengths, including: *An

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948), is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musicals, ...

fan *Caroline, an

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n disabled housewife who is possessed by the ghost of

Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...

*Karen, a prize-winning beautician *Borgesia, a

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

story-teller *A wedding planner from

Rotherham Rotherham () is a large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then merges with the River Don. The River Don then flows through the town centre. It is the main settlement of ...

*A hunter who does not believe in

zebra Zebras (, ) (subgenus ''Hippotigris'') are African equines with distinctive black-and-white striped coats. There are three living species: the Grévy's zebra (''Equus grevyi''), plains zebra (''E. quagga''), and the mountain zebra (''E. zeb ...

s *Katrina, a corporate high-flier with an irrational terror of the

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

*A marketing assistant forced to dress as a bookworm As a Perrier award-winning show it secured a run in

London's West End The West End of London (commonly referred to as the West End) is a district of Central London, west of the City of London and north of the River Thames, in which many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buil ...

, at the Soho Theatre, in November 2005. Solon also received £7,500 with the prize.

Radio

*''

Ed Reardon's Week ''Ed Reardon's Week'' is a sitcom on BBC Radio 4 recorded semi-naturalistically in the style of a radio drama. It concerns the story of a curmudgeonly middle-aged writer described in the show's publicity material as an "author, pipesmoker, consu ...

'' – Lucy, in Series 3 *'' Laura Solon: Talking and Not Talking'' (2007–09) *''

Frank Skinner Christopher Graham Collins (born 28 January 1957), professionally known as Frank Skinner, is an English comedian, actor, presenter and writer. At the 2001 British Comedy Awards, he was named Best Comedy Entertainment Personality. His televisio ...

Absolute Radio Absolute Radio is a British National radio station owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Absolute Radio Network. It broadcasts nationally across the UK via Digital audio broadcasting and on 1215 kHz MW. History 1993–1997: Virg ...

'' – Stand-in for Emily Dean (2009, 2011–12) *''

Dave Gorman David James Gorman (born 2 March 1971) is an English comedian, presenter, and writer. Gorman began his career writing for comedy series such as ''The Mrs Merton Show'' (1993–1998) and ''The Fast Show'' (1994–1997), and later garnered ac ...

'' – Stand-in for Danielle Ward (2010)

Television

*'' Ruddy Hell! It's Harry and Paul'' (2007–2012, performer and additional material) *''Laura, Ben and Him'' (2008) *''

'' (2009) *'' Have I Got News for You'' (2010) *'' Fast and Loose'' (2011) *''

Hot in Cleveland ''Hot in Cleveland'' is an American television sitcom on TV Land starring Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves, Wendie Malick, and Betty White. The series, which was TV Land's first original series, premiered on June 16, 2010, and was TV Land's highe ...

'' (2010–2015, writer, six episodes) *'' Back to Life'' (2019, writer)

Film

*'' Postman Pat: The Movie'' (2014) *''

Office Christmas Party ''Office Christmas Party'' is a 2016 American Christmas comedy film directed by Will Speck and Josh Gordon and written by Justin Malen and Laura Solon, based on a story by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore. The film stars an ensemble cast, including Jas ...

'' (2016, writer) *''

Let It Snow "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!", also known as simply "Let It Snow", is a song written by lyricist Sammy Cahn and composer Jule Styne in July 1945 in Hollywood, California, during a heat wave as Cahn and Styne imagined cooler conditions ...

'' (2019, writer) *''

The School for Good and Evil ''The School for Good and Evil'' is a fantasy fairytale hexalogy of books by Soman Chainani. The first novel in the series was published on May 14, 2013. The series is set in a fictional widespread location known as the Endless Woods. The origi ...

'' (2022, screenwriter)

Other drama

*''

Orbis (Doctor Who Audio) Orbis may refer to: Companies * Orbis Business Intelligence, a British private intelligence firm * Orbis Technology, a British bookmaker software company now called OpenBet * Orbis (Polish travel agency), a Polish travel agency, established i ...

'' - Selta ( Big Finish) (2009)

Screenwriter

Solon has

adapted In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the po ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

screenplays for movies such as ''

'', and has had original screenplays (''Work It'' and ''Bodyguards'') optioned by

Bluegrass Films Scott Stuber (born December 13, 1968) is an American film producer and head of original films at Netflix. Career After graduating from University of Arizona with a film degree, Stuber worked at Universal Pictures as a publicity assistant to Lew ...

. Solon has also written episodes for season 5 and 6 of ''

''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Solon, Laura 1979 births 21st-century English actresses 21st-century English women writers Alumni of Worcester College, Oxford British women screenwriters Date of birth missing (living people) English comedy writers English television writers English women comedians English women writers Living people People educated at Downe House School Writers from London British women television writers 21st-century British screenwriters