Lancaster stand-up comic ready for festival homecoming gig

A Lancaster stand-up comic is returning to her home city to perform at a brand new festival.

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.

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.

Later this month, Lizzie will perform with Jane Postlethwaite and Mary Cross in ‘Really Good’ at The Storey for the Lancaster Comedy Festival on Saturday April 27 at 1pm.

“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!" said Lizzie.

"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.

“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 third 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.”

The first ever Lancaster Comedy Fest is coming to five different venues between April 26-28.

There’ll be 34 live shows across the weekend, at The Borough, Kanteena, The Gregson, The Jailor's Barrel and The Storey Institute.

Tickets are available at eventbrite.co.uk

Read more: First ever Comedy Festival coming to Lancaster - Beyond Radio