"We're looking to book more female and non-binary acts!"
You'll spot this callout everywhere — Facebook groups, Instagram stories, last-minute pleas from local bookers eager to balance their lineups. And yet, in a city as global and diverse as London, the scramble to "find" non-male comedians feels telling. As a queer, female, POC comic who's been performing internationally for nearly a decade, I can't help but ask: Is there more we can do?
Last year, Chortle examined 168 line-ups at 12 major comedy clubs from September to the end of November. Of those 34, just under 18% were all-male, and of the rest, the vast majority featured just one woman on a bill of around four comics. Only in a very few cases did women outnumber men. In one London club which runs a bursary for female comedians, six of the 25 nights examined featured two women and one man in the three-strong line-ups.
The truth is, finding brilliant female comics in London isn’t difficult — it's only treated like it is. What's missing isn't talent, but a system that nurtures us instead of reducing us to a diversity checkbox. When women are forced to fight over a token five minutes on male-heavy lineups, there's little room to truly grow.
So I say: Let's build our own stage.
I've recently launched Bitches in Stitches London with fellow comedian Arie David. It's a comedy group that'll put on monthly stand-up shows for girls, gays, and theys around London, featuring all-femme lineups. It's the latest edition of a global comedy group that has chapters in Hong Kong, Manila (Philippines), and Manchester.
"When comedy isn't inclusive, it limits whose truths get the mic," Arie tells me. "The funniest people I know bring different perspectives to the table and that's what keeps comedy surprising, sharp, and full of life."
I met Arie on the London stand-up circuit in 2024. We bonded after a gig in Shoreditch, exchanging eye rolls at a particular performance of full-on misogyny and racism that the comic didn't even bother to wrap up with a single punchline. The room fell silent until he awkwardly sidled off the stage.
It's this sort of awkwardness, I learned, that Arie leans into, headfirst, with her comedy. Her jokes challenge audiences to make uncomfortable eye contact with the elephant in the room, acknowledging the silliness of the status quo. "I really want to have a baby, because I'd like to be praised for doing something that’s easy," she says, when opening one of her signature jokes. It never fails to elicit mixed reactions from the crowd. "Oh no," Arie follows up, "I plan on being the father."
Each month, Bitches in Stitches London will showcase the funniest femmes and thems in town (or, indeed, from out of town) — from rising stars to seasoned pros — on a seven-person lineup where each performer gets seven minutes of stage time, and everyone (regardless of experience) is paid equally.
London's comedy scene is competitive and well-paid nights are hard to come by, especially for women. Performers are paid based on experience (such as the number of gigs they've done), but with a system skewed in favour of male acts, everyone else has to compete for the scraps. It doesn't have to be this way. Instead of being pitted against each other, we should be lifting each other up. I want to create a scene built on community, not competition.
Also joining the lineup for our London debut is Natalia Schwartz, who founded Bitches in Stitches' Manchester chapter last year and has sold out every single one of their shows since. When you see her on stage, it's clear Natalia has zero interest in playing the demure woman. She hilariously navigates the struggle of fitting into traditional femininity while refusing to tone it down. As a compere, she thrives on audience interaction, seamlessly blending improv with her sharp storytelling and animated stage presence. "So often, women in comedy feel like a token — we're either there to fill a quota or as a novelty," says Natalia. "I want a night where women can perform to a warm and crowded room where we aren't treated as a minority. We are half of the population and should act like it."
I'm often asked why it's important for comedy to be inclusive and feminist. This needs to be a priority because if the same voices keep telling the jokes, the rest of us become the punchlines. Bitches in Stitches believes that laughter should be used to connect people, not alienate them.
Our goal is to use laughter to celebrate individuality and build a community here in London, where more femme comics get stage time in rooms packed with non-male dominated audiences. At our shows, they can expect a diverse lineup, where no two comics or tight fives are alike. We're partnering with venues around London that share our mission of inclusivity to create safe spaces where you can show up as yourself, sit up front, and laugh like you mean it.
Bitches in Stitches makes its London debut with New Grrrl Order on 24 October 2025, at Hoxton Cabin. Tickets available on Dice.fm from 1 September.
