“We wanted to make a statement this year about the diversity of women in comedy and we were delighted when the Free Festival organizers invited us to be part of their fantastic programme for 2007,” explains Funny Women producer, Lynne Parker.

“We’ve been part of the mainstream Fringe for four years now and it wouldn’t have been possible for us to do what we are doing this year with the established Fringe venues. Laughing Horse offered us more flexibility and Ego were very happy to experiment with our format.”

Ego nightclub is a grand, vibrant and unique venue in the heart of Edinburgh situated directly opposite Edinburgh’s Playhouse Theatre and Omni Centre. It is a fitting home for Funny Women’s first foray into theatre.

“The move into producing theatre is something close to our hearts as we are continually looking for touring projects and opportunities to extend our brand,” says Lynne. “We also have various broadcast concepts in development so being part of the Free Festival gives us a brilliant opportunity to continue our relationship with the Fringe without the financial risk.

“After the success of this year’s NIVEA Funny Women Awards it is also very important for us to continue providing a platform for new talent to perform at the Fringe. The workshop programme ties in closely with this too as we believe that there are still a lot of very talented funny women out there who need to be prized out of their shells!”

Funny Women is also collaborating with Birds Eye View which is a creative platform for women filmmakers. Women make up only 7% film directors and 12% screenwriters. In a world so influenced by the medium of film, that's a crazy and concerning imbalance. Funny Women shows its support by giving them a platform at Ego during the Festival.

All Funny Women shows are free ticketed so to book in advance for The Guid Sisters and Funny Women at the Fringe, or enroll for a Funny Women Workshop please call 0131 226 0000 or visit www.edfringe.com.

Entry on the door for all events and shows will be on a first come, first served basis if you have not pre–booked. Shows run daily from 4–14, 16–18 August inclusive, see times below.

Funny Women Workshops run from 6–10 and 13–17 August inclusive, and cost £45 per head. Funny Women is offering preferential discounts for group bookings of 10 or more people enrolling at the same time. Please book direct with Funny Women on 020 8744 1750 or 07960 218 298 or email info@funnywomen.com putting ‘WORKSHOP GROUP BOOKING’ in the subject line.

For more media information please contact Funny Women on 020 8744 1750 or 07960 218 298 or email info@funnywomen.com.