Love, Heartache & Bey

That’s right, UK comic genius Luisa Omielan is hailing the queen Beyoncé in her acclaimed stand-up show What Would Beyoncé Do?!. Speaking truthfully, we’re always asking that question as well; what would Bey do if she were in this bind?

Unlike Bey, this woman has some sassy takes on your everyday questions. For instance: if she were the spawn of two people of her choosing, they would be Cher and Meatloaf. Interesting choice.

This is her debut solo stand-up show, which is said to be “all about approaching 30 and life not matching up to expectations”. It took a world-shattering break-up to prompt this stroke of comic genius, and what a blessing that turned out to be. “I was heartbroken, jobless and moved back into my mum’s house at the age of 30. Drinking cocktails at midday with my best friend in a local old man’s pub and she goes, ‘You do know we are the same age as Beyoncé? FML! What would Beyoncé do?!’” She’s turned the idolisation of modern day gods (pop stars) into self-help that’s palatable. When asked whether going over the same heartache night after night for the entertainment of others gets a little tiresome, Omielan admits that it gets pretty annoying having to relive it. Now that she is completely over it, it’s turned into an honest, fun and playful experience for everyone.

She takes our 21st century hopes and dreams, our shortcomings, our heartbreaks, and shows us how to deal with them. It is only truly talented comedians that can make the cripplingly self-aware laugh at themselves. Instead of indulging in self-pity like the rest of us, she creates a party for the audience out of jokes that poke fun at all of our pasts, to the benefit of everyone in the room.

After appearing in 11 shows in the Edinburgh Fringe over the past five years and hosting her own BBC radio show, we’d say she’s now earned her street cred in the stand-up and improv world. The Edinburgh scene was admittedly a tough one to crack. After receiving no attention from the industry, she went elsewhere to develop her content. “I didn’t have a creative team, when I wrote the show I had been trying to get industry interest for years, I couldn’t get it for love nor monay, so I hired gay bars and put the show on for free to my audiences of gays and girls. Luckily the audiences helped shape the show so by the time I took it to Edinburgh for the first time it was ready.”

Rumour has it she is watching The Real Housewives Of Melbourne to get culturally attuned: “I want to get my fortune told and get my make-up done like Gina.”