Harrogate comedian's meteoric rise to UK fame

A young Harrogate woman, who is one of the stars of this year's Harrogate Comedy Festival less than a decade after she performed as a teenager in Harrogate Youth Theatre, says she is stunned by her meteoric rise over the last 12 months.
Rising star - Harrogates Maisie Adam who got her start at Harrogate Youth Theatre and is now coming to Harrogate Comedy Festival.Rising star - Harrogates Maisie Adam who got her start at Harrogate Youth Theatre and is now coming to Harrogate Comedy Festival.
Rising star - Harrogates Maisie Adam who got her start at Harrogate Youth Theatre and is now coming to Harrogate Comedy Festival.

Talented Maisie Adam, who was St Aidan’s High School’s head girl, said she feels like “the luckiest girl in the world” after a rollercoaster 12 months of successShe said: “I can’t believe the year I’ve had. When I won So You Think You’re Funny at the Edinburgh Fringe last year, I had been doing stand-up for ten months, and I was working in a mobile bar serving Pimms and Ice Cream in Millennium Square in Leeds! “I literally couldn’t have asked for a better run.

“I really do feel like the luckiest girl in the world. To do what I absolutely love every day as a job is just an absolute dream. “By the following summer, I’m doing my debut Edinburgh show which was amazing in itself. For it to then sell out every day of the Fringe was a bonus.“Then to have won the 2018 Amused Moose New Comic Award was just incredible.“And then just when I thought it couldn’t be any better, I was also nominated for Best Newcomer at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards."

Harrogate's Maisie Adam receiving the UK's So You Think You're Funny? award from David O'Doherty at the Edinburgh Fringe last year.Harrogate's Maisie Adam receiving the UK's So You Think You're Funny? award from David O'Doherty at the Edinburgh Fringe last year.
Harrogate's Maisie Adam receiving the UK's So You Think You're Funny? award from David O'Doherty at the Edinburgh Fringe last year.
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Sharp but likably down to earth, Maisie’s show for this year’s Harrogate Comedy Festival, which runs for 18 days from October 3-20, is called, in self-deprecatory fashion, Maisie Adam: Vague Part of Harrogate Comedy Festival 2018.Such has been its popularity that it sold out quickly, leading to the adding of a second show on the same day.

Having new talent like twentysomething Maisie alongside the big names coming this year to Harrogate such as Millican, Sara Pascoe, Nish Kumar, Ross Noble and Jason Byrne is what makes the annual festival so special.

Maisie said: “I’m so looking forward to performing my show. What I really love about Harrogate Comedy Festival is that it champions everyone from the big names to the up-and-coming comics and also brand new with its New Comedian Competition. It’s just brilliant.”“That’s what comedy festivals - and festivals in general - should be about. Showcasing established names but also championing local talent and supporting them from the start. “

Life has been a little bit hectic since Maisie won the So You Think You’re Funny? competition at the Edinburgh Fringe, following in the footsteps of previous winners including Peter Kay, Lee Mack, Sarah Millican, Alan Carr, John Bishop and Jimmy Carr.

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Maisie’s show has been picked up by the Soho Theatre for a week run in January, and she will also be going to Utrecht Comedy Festival next year.But she hasn’t forgotten her roots. Her own comedy heroes may include Victoria Wood, Lucille Ball, Peter Kay and Micky Flanagan, But much of her her set is inspired by Harrogate and its people.

Maisie said: “I’m so looking forward to performing my show at Harrogate Comedy Festival.“I used to be part of the Harrogate Youth Theatre as a kid; I would spend every Tuesday evening from ages 14-17 in that studio, so to be coming back to that space with my own debut Edinburgh show - and for it to be sold-out is amazing.

“There’s also lots of local references in the show which at Edinburgh, I had to take more time to set up and explain, whereas I suspect at this show I can have more fun with it as the audience will already know the places mentioned - and maybe even the people!”Maisie Adam: Vague Part of Harrogate Comedy Festival 2018 is at Harrogate Theatre Studio for two shows on Saturday, October 13.

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