Hootylicious

If any reader happens to have Beyoncé Knowles’ personal email address, can you please contact Hot Press. We’ve been asked by London-based comic Luisa Omielan for the info and we’re fairly certain she’s not a threat. In fact, she’s a treat; bubbly and warm from the off. Maybe a tad obsessed...

“I sent an email to ‘[email protected]’,” Omielan explains. “Oh, and ‘[email protected]’... ‘[email protected]’. Like, I sent an email to loads of different addresses and nobody ever got back to me. But then, only three bounced back out of eight so you never know!”
We have it on good authority that Jay-Z’s better half is more of a fax fan. Maybe her impractical love for ‘80s means of communication is the reason for the lack of reply.
Regardless, when your debut stand-up set is entitled ‘What Would Beyoncé Do?!’ and you’ve watched it grow from a free pub gig to a sell-out Soho Theatre show that’s about to cross the Irish Sea, you’ve got to figure that the titular inspiration will take note at some point and get in contact herself.
“Dude, I hope so! I think she’s incredible and she’s such a role model. If you’re going to aim to be like anyone then you might as well shoot for the stars. Like, I’ve got a poster on my wall that says ‘you have the same amount of hours in a day as Beyoncé’. Admittedly sometimes that makes me want to go back to bed and be like ‘fuck off!’ but other times I’m like ‘yeah, let’s go get it!’”
For the past two years, she’s been plumping for the latter option. A trained comedy improviser and actor, her debut solo show is an extremely honest examination of her life around the time of ‘The Big 3-0’, coupled with plenty of ‘Survivor’ sing-alongs. Unflinchingly confessional material powered through by Omielan’s super-charged, jocund personality to create something akin to a hen party atmosphere.
“I talk about being heart broken and I talk about issues like mental health and people relate to that.”
Somehow, she keeps things upbeat. No small feat when she’s openly discussing a family member’s suicide attempt.
“They took an overdose on Christmas Day two years ago. They’re fine now but it was a really shitty time. It came out of nowhere. I was such a mess: I had just broken up with a boyfriend, he was with someone else and I’d just found out that they were dating. So I did a gig about it. When I went on stage I was just really vexed and wanted to have a go at the world. But people loved it and clapped and laughed. Comedy is a real chance to talk about things that are uncomfortable. To realise that people can relate and you’re not alone. Then having a Beyoncé soundtrack makes it easier for people to digest difficult subjects. If it wasn’t for her... well, my dreams came through by the age of 30. The reaction has been phenomenal.”
It’s all well and good gushing about the ‘Single Ladies’ star’s inspirational qualities when you’re basking in the glow of your own success. Rewind to that dark winter two years back and Omielan wouldn’t have been quite so chipper if you’d brought up Beyoncé’s achievements. We’re not saying Luisa would have throttled her had their paths crossed, but we probably wouldn’t have been willing to hand over contact details.
“My mate is like really positive and encouraging and she was like, ‘babe you know we’re like the same age as Beyoncé?’ I was like, ‘oh great babes rub it in why don’t you?!’ She’s selling out The O2, I’m lying on the floor crying in a onesie!”
Needless to say, the show that arose from that period focuses on the plight of a generation, who grew up with expectations of fame (or at least prosperity), now turning 30 in fairly deflated fashion.
“Growing up I was told to go to university. You’ll earn loads of money and get a really good job. Then you’ll get married and have a house and then you’ll have babies and... I was 30 and I’d just moved back in with my mum! ‘What the fuck? How come it’s not gone the way it was supposed to go?’ And I wasn’t the only one. All my friends and peers were in the same boat.”
It becomes apparent over the course of our conversation – “I used to date a guy from Dublin and Hot Press was a shit hot magazine that he would always get” – that the particular cad who broke her heart and brought on this existential funk hails from this neck of the woods.
“Yeah, it was the Irish fella that I dated,” Omielan admits. “I do a bit of an impression of him in the show and all the Irish people in the crowd would be like, ‘that’s an amazing impression!’.”
We hear it, and in fairness, she has the north Dublin tone down. Her audience would even meet her after gigs and repeat the Dublinese catchphrase “Luisa, I luv yeh but, yano?!” which she didn’t totally appreciate: “Alright guys, that’s still a bit painful, can you not do an impression?”
So if she’s still hurting, there’s no chance her trip to Dublin to play the Vodafone Comedy Festival in late July – the first time What Would Beyoncé Do?! travels outside Britain – could bring back bad memories and trigger an onstage breakdown?
“I dunno, maybe...” she muses. “But I break down on stage anyway, that’s part of the show! To be honest, I’m really excited to be taking it to Dublin. I’ve got lots of friends there, lots of Irish friends. I feel like it’s a bit of a monumental occasion for me.”

Luisa Omielan comes to the Vodafone Comedy Festival in Dublin on July 27 and 28.