“Perky, charismatic performer with an acute sense of irony” – Chortle
“Impeccable comedic talent” – The Vancouver Arts Review
“Salty-sweet, savagely honest, brutally funny” – The Scene Magazine
Canadian comedian Katharine Ferns is relentlessly funny with her confessional and brutally honest storytelling style of comedy. With seemingly sweet and innocent charm, Katharine finds dark comedy in her observations on relationships, family, mental illness, feminism and her past misadventures.
In 2012, Katharine was a finalist in the Toronto’s Funniest Comedian Contest at Just For Laughs (JFL42) and was nominated for the 2013 Tim Sims Encouragement Fund sponsored by The Second City, Toronto. Katharine was featured on the ichannel (Canada’s political and social issues network) in the stand-up series No Kidding and as a panelist on Inside Joke in 2014. She also appeared in an episode of MTV’s Losing It. Before leaving Canada, Katharine was tour support for Big Jay Oakerson, Ari Shaffir, Kurt Metzger, Tom Segura, Sam Tripoli, Baron Vaughn, Brian Redban and Brendon Walsh.
In 2014 Katharine moved to the UK to continue her career in her family’s home country. That year she was a finalist in the Laughing Horse New Act Competition and in 2015, Katharine brought her 4 star debut solo show Conscious, Incompetent to the Brighton and Edinburgh Fringe Festivals. In 2016 Katharine returned to the festival circuit with Katharine Ferns is Faking It and was also tour support for Dane Baptiste.
From 2017 to 2018 Katharine brought her critically acclaimed show Katharine Ferns is in Stitches to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Leicester Comedy Festival, Glasgow International Comedy Festival, Manchester Fringe, Vancouver Fringe Festival, Women in Comedy Festival, Brighton Fringe Festival and Toronto Fringe Festival. At the Vancouver Fringe, Katharine Ferns received Honourable Mention for the Artistic Risk Award.
Industry and Audience Reviews: CLICK HERE
COMPETITION:
2017 Honourable Mention, Artistic Risk Award, Vancouver Fringe Festival, Canada
2016 Regional Finalist, Funny Women Stage Award, Edinburgh
2014 Finalist, Laughing Horse New Act Competition, London
2013 Nominated, Fresh Meat, Tim Sims Encouragement Fund, The Second City, Toronto, Canada
2012 Finalist, Toronto’s Funniest Comedian, Just for Laughs (JFL42), Toronto, Canada
2012 Nominated, Fresh Meat, Tim Sims Encouragement Fund, The Second City, Toronto, Canada
2012 Finalist, Toronto’s Funniest Comedian, Just for Laughs (JFL42), Toronto, Canada
LIVE SHOWS:
2019
Katharine Ferns: Pillock, Leicester Comedy Festival
The Comedy Store, Manchester – First all-female show
2018
Katharine Ferns is in Stitches, Toronto Fringe Festival
Between One Ferns, Brighton Fringe Festival
Katharine Ferns is in Stitches, Brighton Fringe Festival
Between One Ferns, Edinburgh Fringe Festival
World Cup of Comedy (Co-Host), Edinburgh Fringe Festival
Bumble Me Tinders (Co-Host), Edinburgh Fringe Festival
2017
Katharine Ferns is in Stitches, Women in Comedy Festival, Manchester
Katharine Ferns is in Stitches, Vancouver Fringe Festival, Canada
Katharine Ferns is in Stitches, Edinburgh Fringe Festival
Full International Brexit, (Host), Edinburgh Fringe Festival
Katharine Ferns is in Stitches, Manchester Fringe Festival
Katharine Ferns is in Stitches, Glasgow International Comedy Festival
Katharine Ferns is in Stitches, Leicester Comedy Festival
Katharine Ferns is in Stitches, Monkey Barrel Comedy, Edinburgh
Hot Water Comedy, Liverpool
Laughterhouse Comedy Club, Liverpool
XS Malarkey, Manchester
The Comedy Store, Manchester
2016
Tour Support, Dane Baptiste, Alhambra Theatre, Bradford
Evelyn Mok and Katharine Ferns, Edinburgh Fringe Festival
Katharine Ferns is Faking It, Edinburgh Fringe Festival
Katharine Ferns is Faking It, Brighton Fringe Festival
The Stand, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Newcastle
The Beehive, Edinburgh
Hot Water Comedy Club, Liverpool
Bromley Comedy Club, Bromley
Hippodrome Casino, London
Soho Comedy Club, London
2015
Support, Sean Hughes, Mostly Comedy, Hitchin
Conscious Incompetent, Edinburgh Fringe Festival
Conscious Incompetent, Brighton Fringe Festival
Komedia, Krater, Brighton
Comedy Cafe, London
Backyard Comedy Club, London
2014
Top Secret Comedy Club, London
NORTH BY NORTHEAST FESTIVAL (NXNE), Toronto, Canada
Tour Support, Sam Tripoli, Hamilton, Canada
Tour Support, Tom Segura, London and Hamilton, Canada
The Comedy Quarry Club, Windsor, Canada
2013
Tour Support, Ari Shaffir, Kurt Metzger, Toronto, Canada
Tour Support, Brendon Walsh, Dark Comedy Festival, Toronto, Canada
Tour Support, Dark Comedy Festival Tour, London, Canada
Tour Support, Baron Vaughn, Toronto, Canada
Tour Support, Brian Redban, Toronto, Canada
Yuk Yuks, Kitchener and Toronto, Canada
Absolute Comedy Club, Kingston, Canada
ALTdot Comedy Lounge, Rivoli, Toronto, Canada
2012
Tour Support, Big Jay Oakerson, Toronto, Canada
Absolute Comedy Club, Ottawa and Toronto, Canada
Yuk Yuks, Vancouver and Hamilton, Canada
Comedy Mix, Vancouver, Canada
Lafflines, New Westminster, Canada
TELEVISION:
Inside Joke, Panelist, iChannel, Canada
No Kidding, iChannel, Canada
Losing It, Episode 4, MTV, Canada
Commercial, What? Board Game, National Campaign, Canada
Commercial, Canadian Trivia Board Game, National Campaign, Canada
PODCASTS:
Episode Katharine Ferns, Digging In with Alison Dore, Canada
Episode 1262: Kath, Nobody Likes Onions, USA
S2E1, Strong Female Leads, Standard Issue, UK
Episode 2.2, Drunk Degrassi, UK
Episode 187, Ari Shaffir’s Skeptic Tank, USA
Episode 16, Bitshop, Canada
Episode 33, Laughmatic, Canada
The Comic Call #8, High on Trees, Canada
PRODUCER:
2018 World Cup of Comedy and Bumble Me Tinders, Edinburgh Fringe Festival
2017 Full International Brexit, Edinburgh Fringe Festival
2013-14 COMEDY INFERNO (monthly), Crown and Tiger, Toronto, Canada
2012-13 TACOmedy (weekly), La Revolucion, Toronto, Canada
THEATER:
2007 Actor, Sinners by Norm Foster, PineTree Players, Canada
2006 Actor, Night of January 16th by Ayn Rand, PineTree Players, Canada
2006 Actor, Sunday on the Rocks by Theresa Rebeck, Apples & Eve Theatre Co., Canada
2005 Actor, I’ll Be Back Before Midnight by Peter Colley, PineTree Players, Canada