Comedy club says 'we've too many women on the bill'

A comedian has revealed how she was dropped from a comedy bill, just for being female.

Jenny Collier has made public an email cancelling her booking because the venue feared there were 'too many women on the bill'.

The email - sent on the eve of International Women's Day and published by Collier on Twitter - said: 'I'm really sorry but the venue have decided they don't want too many women on the bill and unfortunately we need to take you out of this one. We hope that this doesn't cause any inconvenience.'

The gig was in Haslemere, Surrey, on May 15, but Collier did not 'name and shame' the sender.

However, it is thought to have been a gig at Hemmingways Coffee Shop run by the nationwide Mirth Control control chain, which appears to be the only comedy show in the town that night.

However, neither Collier, a 2013 So You Think You're Funny finalist, Mirth Control or Hemmingways have yet responded to Chortle's request for comment.

It is not known how many women are deemed 'too many'; however if the venue is Hemmingways, their March gig features 11 performers: ten male and one female.

Collier has acknowledged the support of fellow comedians after she made the posting, tweeting: 'Overwhelmed by the lovely support. Reassured by the collective fury'.

Published: 8 Mar 2014