Local lass Lizzie - Ready to make them laugh!

After winning a national comedy competition, local lass, Lizzie Norm returns to her home town to take part in the Lancaster Comedy Festival in a few weeks.

Former Lancaster Girls’ Grammar School pupil Liz Norman (aka Lizzie Norm) turned her hand to stand-up comedy later in life, and is now making waves on the comedy scene.

Lizzie said “I wanted to be Victoria Wood when I was a teenager, but I thought comedy and performance was a thing for other people, not me! But then I saw a comedy course run by Cumbrian comic Jane Postlethwaite and thought why not! It was one of the best things I’ve ever done, and it changed my life.”

After a series of nerve racking small gigs, Lizzie realised she could make people laugh – on purpose! She soon started writing jokes and sketches and submitting them to various media outlets, and now her comedy material is regularly aired on BBC Radio.

She said “It feels like I’ve finally found what I’m good at, and at 53 it’s better late than never!”

The pandemic put a temporary halt to her comedy career, but she came back with vengeance by winning 3rd place at the prestigious ‘So You Think You’re Funny?’ Awards last year.

The prize is to be part of this year’s ‘Edinburgh Fringe Festival’, doing a full, four week run at The Gilded Balloon, splitting a one hour show with the other winners Samira Banks and Chris Donovan.

But the success doesn’t stop there. She also recently won a place in the semi-finals of the ‘Comedy Bloomers’ competition which is held in London next month.

“I’ve been so lucky so far,” she said, “I’m proud to have performed with some real powerhouses in the comedy industry like Nick Helm, Steve Royle, Tom Wrigglesworth, and Rob Rouse. I’m really looking forward to seeing what the future holds for me, but in the meantime, I’m got fingers crossed for a win in May and I’m just enjoying the journey.”

Lizzie can be seen performing with Jane Postlethwaite and Mary Cross in ‘Really Good’ at The Storey for the Lancaster Comedy Festival on Saturday the 27th of April at 1pm.
Tickets available at eventbrite.co.uk