Francesca Martinez
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Francesca Martinez (born 1978) is an English stand-up comedienne and actress. She has toured internationally, including sell-out runs at the Edinburgh Festival, the Melbourne Comedy Festival and the Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal. She has completed a 33-date UK tour and two off-West End London runs at the Tricycle Theatre and the Hackney Empire.
She has cerebral palsy but prefers to describe herself as "wobbly".
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[edit] Comedy
In 2003, she was listed in The Observer as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy.
She has organised charity shows featuring comedians such as Jo Brand, Johnny Vegas and Al Murray.
Martinez has performed in many countries including Ireland, South Africa, Canada, United States, where she gigged at Caroline's on Broadway, and at the 2008 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where she performed alongside Emma Thompson.
She is developing a feature documentary called What The Hell Is Normal?! which will see her travel around looking for a 'normal' person.
[edit] Television and radio
Before becoming a stand-up, Martinez appeared in the BBC children's drama serial Grange Hill for several years, and has acted in other drama series such as Casualty.
She has also appeared as a guest on The Frank Skinner Show, and in Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant's comedy series Extras.
In April 2008, Martinez made global headlines when (live on Channel 4 News) she became the first Olympic torch bearer to pull out of the London relay in protest over China’s treatment of Tibet.
In 2009, she appeared on the BBC Radio 4 stand-up comedy show, 4 Stands Up.[1] Currently, she is working on a sitcom pilot which is being produced by the producer of Extras.
[edit] References
- Bunbury, Stephanie (25 March 2003). "Wobbly but on the money". The Age. http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/03/24/1048354540942.html. Retrieved 8 November 2009.
- Dugan, Emily (8 November 2009). "Francesca Martinez: A wobbly girl's battle against the last taboo". The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/francesca-martinez-a-wobbly-girls-battle-against-the-last-taboo-1816861.html. Retrieved 8 November 2009.
- ^ BBC Radio 4 Programmes Archive | http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00f4ptw
