5th November 2024
Stephanie Bradshaw is a stand-up comedian and actor from Keswick. A grant from the Cumbria Cultural Fund enabled her to perform her debut stand-up show ‘Big Fish’ at 2024’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival, which reflected on her experience of growing up in Cumbria, chasing her dreams of becoming a successful performer and the challenges of achieving this when living in a rural area.
Stephanie said: “The title is inspired by the fact that when I was younger, I was told I was best suited to being a ‘big fish in a small pond’. It made me feel like I would never be good enough to leave my small town to further explore the big wide world.”
The Cultural Fund grant helped cover the venue fee at the Fringe enabling her to perform at the 40-seater Gilded Balloon, one of the big four venues.
“Being part of the Gilded Balloon family was a huge honour for me and helped me establish connections with industry and fellow performers that have already started to benefit my comedy career going forward.”
Stephanie is passionate about showing younger people in Cumbria that creativity can be born out of any story, no matter where you come from.
“What I have learnt about producing live comedy events, including my Fringe show, has been hugely helpful and will hopefully help launch the careers of other fledgling comedians in Cumbria and beyond.”