Tooty's Wedding

Clip from her short film

More Laura Solon videos

Laura Solon came from nowhere to become only the second solo women to win the Perrier award in 2005, following in the footsteps of Jenny Eclair a decade earlier.

She was born in London, raised near Aylesbury, and attended Worcester College, Oxford, where she began writing and performing comedy as part of the Oxford Revue. She initially tried stand up, but found her niche in character comedy.

Solon scooped comedy's biggest prize at the age of 26, thanks to her one-woman show Kopfraper's Syndrome: One Man and His Incredible Mind. The Edinburgh success led to an immediate commission from Radio 4, which broadcast her debut show Talking And Not Talking from January 2007.

She has also written for several TV shows, including BBC3 sketch show Man Stroke Woman

In 2012, her short film Tooty's Wedding – which she made with Ben Willbond – was accepted into the Sundance Film Festival.

Laura Solon: The Owl Of Steven
Live Review

If ever a show had Radio 4 written all over it, it’s this one. Nice middle-class girl Laura Solon leads us through a jolly Enid Blyton-inspired adventure set on a strange Channel Island where Frenchmen aren’t to be trusted, lighthouse-dwellers are mysterious and no-nonsense girls are the heroes.

Steven is the name of this island, and its most famous resident is its elusive owl. Hollywood actress/model/whatever Stacey Morris is sent there to front a wildlife documentary on this ornithological wonder, with the aid of her miserable Northern camerawoman Katherine.

In their quest they encounter such characters as the ever-bickering local councillors (an excuse for plenty of stupid ‘Your mum…’-style insults); the intimidating Gmavis (and, yes, that is how she spells her name) and by far the best creations: the formidable hotelier Miriam and her henpecked, clumsy husband Philip (think Neil and Christine Hamilton). Then there’s the sinister billionaire brothers who definitely aren’t based on the litigious Barclays Brothers, no sir, although it might be interesting to see how their paper the Daily Telegraph reviews this…

Very much in the vein of last year’s Rabbit Faced Story Soup, the versatile and talented Solon brings this cast of weirdos to life, making even the most shallow of comic caricatures seem more real than their thinly-drawn profiles might suggest. Solon is as elegant a writer as she is a performer, too, with droll and pithy lines spread liberally over the hour. She certainly has an ear for the perfect phrase, creating delightful mental images often with little more than a well-chosen adjective, delivered with masterful timing.

The flimsy narrative is a drawback: no one’s expecting Dickens but it means the show doesn’t hang together all that well, while a few of the scenes could still do with some more attention. However, when it works, The Owl Of Steven really zings, with brilliantly inspired turns of phrases and faultless performance.

Not entirely sure she should be listed as a comic. She's a good actress, but her humour really doesn't work for me. It certainly isn't mainstream comedy. Odd.

N O'S, January 2010

I listened to Talking Not Talking: it's character comedy but without the comedy bit! e

Alan, December 2009

Me and my sister are addicted to Talking and Not Talking... When can we have series 3?

hayesi, July 2009

Listened to all of her radio series, Talking And Not Talking, really very good especially for a newcomer. I'm looking forward to her appearance in Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse's new sketch show, it should be great!

Paul.B, April 2007

Talking And Not Talking was really excellent - I loved it. Can't wait to hear more from her.

Graham, March 2007

Listened to her downloads on Radio 4 - totally brilliant. Only managed to hear four episodes, wish i had heard the others. Can't wait until she does another series.

mark houghton, March 2007