Laura Solon

Infobox Comedian
name = Laura Solon


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birth_date = August 1979 (aged 29)
birth_place = London
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medium = television, theatre, radio
nationality = English
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genre = comedy
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notable_work = Ruddy Hell! It's Harry and Paul
Laura, Ben and Him


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Laura Solon (born August 1979 in England) is an English comedienne, actress, writer and winner of the 2005 Perrier Comedy Award, only the second woman to win as a solo performer (the first being Jenny Eclair in 1995).

She was born in London and raised in Little Kimble near Aylesbury.

Solon started writing and performing as a student in the Oxford Revue at Oxford University where she studied English.

She had tried her hand at being a stand up comedian but found character comedy suited her better [ [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2005/08/31/btedsolon31.xml&sSheet=/living/2005/08/31/ixlivingtop.html 'Perrier winner? I shouldn't have been on the list' - Telegraph ] ] .

In 2005 Solon won the Perrier award for her one-woman Edinburgh Fringe show "Kopfraper's Syndrome: One Man and His Incredible Mind". After this success, the BBC and Channel 4 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. [ [http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2006/04_april/05/solon.shtml BBC - Press Office - Laura Solon signs to BBC ] ]

The first series of "", a sketch and character comedy series, ran on BBC Radio 4 in January and February 2007. The second series ran in May and June 2008.

She has recorded a BBC sitcom pilot by the creators of "People Like Us", also featuring "Man Stroke Woman"'s Daisy Haggard, called "Great News". [ [http://www.chortle.co.uk/news/2006/11/16/4705/comedy_news Comedy news : News 2006 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide ] ]

She features in Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse's sketch show "Ruddy Hell! It's Harry and Paul", broadcast from 2007 on BBC One.Laura was seen in a new sketch show for ITV2 "Laura, Ben and Him" from March 2008 with Marek Larwood and Ben Willbond.

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

The title is in fact a holdover from an entirely different show that Solon had planned to perform at the Edinburgh Fringe 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 fan
*Caroline, an Australian, disabled housewife who is possessed by the ghost of Diana, Princess of Wales
*Karen, a prize-winning beautician
*Borgesia, a Polish story-teller
*a wedding planner from Rotherham
*a hunter who does not believe in zebras
*Katrina, a corporate high-flier with an irrational terror of the Chinese
*a marketing assistant forced to dress as a bookworm

As a Perrier award winning show it secured a run in London's West End, at the Soho Theatre, in November 2005. Solon also received £7 500 with the prize.

Critical reception

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"an astonishingly assured debut".

- "The Times" [ [http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,14936-1743471,00.html Laura Solon; Ben Wilbond - Times Online ] ] .
*

"The writing is as fresh as a cowslip, as sharp as a kitchen-knife, and sometimes as coarse as a fishwife"

- "The Telegraph" August 24, 2005 [ [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2005/08/24/btedperrier2.xml Edinburgh reports: time to stand up for the Perrier - Telegraph ] ]
*

" It is not a well-developed set. Solon's vignettes seldom exceed five minutes, and so the characterisation is not always subjected to the rigour that longer monologues would necessitate. But Solon's twisted imagination means that the show is jam-packed with delights." (3 stars out of 5)

- "The Guardian", August 26, 2005 [ [http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/edinburgh2005/story/0,16078,1556694,00.html Kopfrapers Syndrome, Holyrood Tavern | Stage | The Guardian ] ]
*

"Laura Solon is not an Alan Bennett or Victoria Wood, but she is young, within sight of them and might yet rival them. She is an immensely talented writer with performance skills to match." (4 out of 5 stars)

- "Chortle". [ [http://www.chortle.co.uk/edfest2005/edshows.html?http&&&www.chortle.co.uk/edfest2005/kopfrapers.html Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide ] ]

Radio

*"Ed Reardon's Week" - Lucy, in Series 3
*"" (2007), (2008)

Television

*"Ruddy Hell! It's Harry and Paul" (2007-)
*"Laura, Ben and Him" (2008)

References