Why don’t female standups crack more puns?

http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/jan/18/punny-women-comedy-miranda-hart

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Women are funny: end of debate. But can they do puns? Next month, the UK Pun Championship will be held at the comedy channel Dave’s Leicester comedy festival (4-22 February). Not only are there no women in the eight-strong final, but, out of several dozen entrants, none was female. Not very “Lean In”, is it?

The trouble is, being a “pun comedian” is a niche. Reigning UK Pun Championship winner Darren Walsh, author of Cheep Laughs: 1025 Really Daft Gags (sample: “Ivana Trump too, but I have manners”), explains: “I don’t want to be pundantic about it, but there are not many pun acts who are blokes.”

Another issue is that women already find themselves in the spurious category of “women comedians”. Only last week, standup comic Helen Keeler was dropped from the bill at a comedy night in Lancashire because, said the promoter, “a group of women have booked and they don’t like women comedians, so I’m taking you off the bill”. You can maybe see why some women might not want to pigeonhole themselves even further.

This could explain why there’s no female equivalent of Tim Vine. And I can’t think of any female newcomer (or even established act) who exclusively does puns. But it’s not true that women don’t do them at all. Indeed, “pun intended” is a Miranda Hart catchphrase. Up-and-coming women with sharp writing and great one-liners include Stephanie Laing, Lauren Pattison and these three here. Note: definitely not me. I am very unpunny indeed.

Bec HillThe founder of Pun Run, London’s only pun-based comedy night, is equally known for her brilliant storytelling and physical comedy. Her jokes regularly make the list of the best at the Edinburgh fringe: “I used to think an ocean of soda existed, but it was just a Fanta sea.”

Bisha K AliThe Funny Women awards 2013 finalist sprinkles her observational comedy about her dysfunctional upbringing with one-liners and the occasional pun. “I love meerkats. I think they were named by disgruntled Shakespearean dogs: ‘Do not abide them. They are but mere cats.’”

Saskia PrestonThis Comedy Knights Fresh Comedian of 2013 finalist floods her Twitter timeline (@saspreston) with smart, pithy gags and the occasional pun: “Got a tattoo of a watch. Regretted it a minute later.” On why comics might avoid puns, she says: “The truth is most puns are groaners on stage (but fine on Twitter). Without the developed persona of a Tim Vine or a Milton Jones most people – women and men – just don’t bother once they’ve tried and failed a few times.”

Viv Groskop’s solo show, Say Sorry to the Lady, is at Dave’s Leicester comedy festival at Heroes@LCB Depot on Sunday 15 February