Elf Lyons
 | This article needs to be updated. The reason given is: Post 2020 career largely missing due to need to revert hallucinated content. (August 2026) |
Elf Lyons | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Lyons at the 2024 Edinburgh Festival Fringe | |
| Born | 1991 (age 34–35)[1] |
| Education | Bristol University BA Queen Mary University of London MA |
| Occupations | Comedian, writer, actress |
| Parent(s) | Gerard Lyons Anette Lyons |
Emily-Anne "Elf" Lyons (born 1991)[1] is a British stand-up comedian, writer and actress.
Early life
[edit]Lyons is the daughter of economist Gerard Lyons.[2][3][4] Her mother, Annette, is a painter and she has two siblings.[3][2][4] She earned a BA in Drama from Bristol University and an MA in Theatre & Performance from Queen Mary University of London.[5] She then studied at École Philippe Gaulier in Étampes, France.[3][4]
Career
[edit]Lyons was the runner up for a Funny Women award in 2013.[6][7][8] 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 in 2015.[9] She was a founder of "The Secret Comedians", a collective who run comedy nights in East London[10] and was a regular compere at the Camden Comedy Club in Camden, London.[11] She was a co-director of OddFlock, a London-based theatre company made up of a group of Drama graduates from the University of Bristol.[12] She also directed at Riverside Studios, The Lion & Unicorn Theatre, Etcetera Theatre,[citation needed] and was a General Manager of the Finborough Theatre.[13]
Vogue called Lyons one of the five best new British female comics.[14] In 2017 her show Swan was nominated for Best Show at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards.[14][15] Stephen Armstrong, in The Times wrote: "It was ludicrous and hilarious."[1] Bruce Dessau, reviewing her 2018 musical show ChiffChaff in The Evening Standard, 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".[16] Later in 2018 she performed a new show, Medusa.[5] An early 2019 show was called "Love Songs to Guinea Pigs".[17] Unlikely Darlings, a collaboration with Helen Duff exploring the life of painter Leonora Carrington. Unlikely Darlings was selected as one of The Daily Telegraph's Top Cultural Moments of 2020.[18] Brian Logan of The Guardian wrote in 2022 that Lyons “can’t be accused of treading the conventional career path ... None of her shows ever remotely resembles the next.”[19] Her 2026 show The Woman on the Edge reflects the breakup of Lyons' engagement the previous year. Reviewing the Edinburgh Fringe run, Logan said "It’s potent stuff, building to a fierce finale in which she claws back something defiant, celebratory even, from the wreckage of her love life."[20]
She has written for The Guardian on polyamory.[21] and The Scotsman on the importance of play.[22].
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 Armstrong, Stephen. "Edinburgh Festival interview: comedian Elf Lyons talks Swan Lake and her new show ChiffChaff", The Times, 29 July 2018. Retrieved 3 July 2019
- 1 2 Barbara Lewis (24 August 2018). "British comic Elf Lyons makes economics a laughing matter". Reuters News. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
- 1 2 3 Chris Weigand (18 March 2019). "It's the comedy economy, stupid! Elf Lyons on the true cost of standup". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
- 1 2 3 Louisa Pritchard (14 August 2016). "I moved in with my grandmother to help me understand my mother". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
- 1 2 Fisher, Jo. "BWW Interview: Elf Lyons Talks MEDUSA at Nuffield Southampton Theatres", BroadwayWorld.com, 11 October 2018
- ↑ "Funny Women Awards 2013: Double Act Twisted Loaf Win; Cassie Pope Takes Home Comedy Writing Award". Retrieved 17 May 2014.
- ↑ "Funny Women Awards 2013 Finalists". Retrieved 17 May 2014.
- ↑ Sarah Graham. "Women in Comedy: ones to watch". Retrieved 17 May 2014.
- ↑ "British Comedy Guide: Elf Lyons". Retrieved 27 October 2015.
- ↑ "The Secret Comedians - about us". Archived from the original on 17 May 2014. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
- ↑ "London Live: The Funny Side of Festivals". Retrieved 27 October 2015.
- ↑ "Odd Flock Theatre - about us". Archived from the original on 17 May 2014. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
- ↑ London Wall programme, 2013]
- 1 2 Maitland, Hayley. "The Five Best New British Female Comics", Vogue, 16 September 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2019
- ↑ Logan, Brian (23 August 2017). "Edinburgh comedy awards: the nominees in full" – via www.theguardian.com.
- ↑ Dessau, Bruce. "Elf Lyons review: Economics musical Chiffchaff turns the silliness dial up to 11", The Evening Standard, 26 March 2019
- ↑ Dessau, Bruce. "Comedian Elf Lyons: 'After spinal surgery, I have to be very aware of what I can and can't do'", The Evening Standard, 3 January 2019
- ↑ "The 50 best cultural events of 2020". The Daily Telegraph. 12 December 2020.
- ↑ Logan, Brian (9 August 2023). "Elf and Duffy: Heist review – harum-scarum comedy havoc". The Guardian.
- ↑ Logan, Brian (18 August 2026). "Laughing on the other side: the fringe shows turning painful breakups into comedy". The Guardian.
- ↑ Lyons, Elf. "A new way to love: in praise of polyamory", The Guardian, 22 July 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2019
- ↑ Lyons, Elf (28 July 2024). "Clown Elf Lyons explains why it's so important to be silly". The Scotsman.
External links
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