Laughing Matters is an ESEA Comedy Talent Development Lab produced by MilkTea, and supported by the BBC. We proudly present our brilliant cohort, who will collaborate on making comedy in the upcoming months!
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Bruce Tang is a comedy writer and improviser. His writing includes BBC’s Drop the Dead Panda (Best Scripted Comedy nominee for the BBC’s Audio Drama Awards and Best Radio Sketch Show nominee for the British Comedy Guide 2021 Awards) and Comedy Central’s East Mode with Nigel Ng. Bruce’s writing is driven by contemporary British culture, with a particular focus on class and queerness. He’s keen to highlight the messy, goofy and sloppy BESEA experience.
Growing up Calif Chong thought she would become a female version of Stephen Chow, making comedy films to cheer people up. She started her career as a scriptwriter writing primetime TV dramas in Hong Kong. In 2015, she won a pitching competition hosted by Raindance Berlin at Berlinale and that motivated her to work internationally. Since then, she has made award-winning short films that screened in Academy-award and BAFTA-qualifying film festivals globally.
Christy Ku is a writer, poet, actor and workshop facilitator. She has been commissioned by the BBC, Sky Arts, Barbican and more. Christy trains with Hoopla Improv and is an alumnus of the Barbican Young Poets, New Earth Theatre Academy, National Youth Theatre, Royal Court Theatre Playwriting Group and the Southbank New Poets Collective.
Heidi Carmichael is a writer, performer and producer who loves creating, watching and championing comedy. She is proudly mixed British Filipino and grew up watching British sitcoms and sketch shows. Heidi is currently developing a comedy-drama (Nawala) about a young woman battling grief, and having a complete life crisis. The script received development funding from Creative England via the BFI Network and Heidi is an artist who wants to bring more BESEA talent to our screens.
Jacqui Bardelang is a stage and screen actor, voice actor, director and drag king known as Sigi Moonlight. A regular on the London cabaret scene, Jacqui has performed all over from Shakespeare's Globe to Glastonbury Music Festival and has been featured on Netflix and BBC3. Credits include: Baldur's Gate 3, The Nevers, Modest, Mulan Rouge.
Hong Kong-born British actor Jemma Moore stars in NTA nominated ITV thriller Red Eye as Jess Li and the award-winning horror film Host (2020). Jemma's performance in Host earned her a spot on Empire magazine's The 100 Best Horror Movie Characters list. In 2017, she won the ABC Discovers UK Digital Talent Competition with a comedy self tape. Jemma is also known for her roles in Silent Witness (BBC, 2023), BAFTA Scotland and Royal Television Society Scotland award winning comedy Two Doors Down (BBC, 2022), Doom: Annihilation (Universal, 2019), Shakespeare & Hathaway (BBC, 2019) and Wonder Woman (Warner Brothers, 2018). Jemma is also a filmmaker with her comedy short film Stalling It screening at BAFTA and BIFA-qualifying festivals.
Martin F Wong is a writer selected for the All3Media/TV Foundation's New Writers Collective (2024) for his pilot Stand. As a third child (and failed attempt at a daughter) he tried to be funny to win parental approval. He failed, but has won awards for his short Highs and some other achievements his dad doesn’t remember. He is working hard to become a better writer and person but is secretly less bothered about the person thing.
Marty Quell is a multidisciplinary artist, writer, and performer from Ireland, now based in London. After training in theatre, he moved to London at 21 to pursue acting, studying at Identity School of Acting. Currently pursuing a degree in Illustration and Visual Media at the University of the Arts, Marty also writes stand-up, theatre, and screenplays. He plans to pursue a master's in screenwriting and is seeking to create a TV comedy about his spontaneous journey into acting.
Shannon Ong is a Singaporean-born actor who’s just graduated from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama under the BA Acting CDT course. She also dabbles in writing and stand-up comedy, and is an alumnus of the SOHO Theatre Writers' Lab. Shannon is looking forward to collaborating with other like-minded creatives who all share a love of comedy.
Su Mi is a British Queer Malaysian Alt-Stand up Comedienne/Musician/Clown Drag performance artist from East London. Sold out Banana Beard show at the Soho Theatre 2024, which has toured around the UK, including the Edinburgh Fringe. Winner of Keep it Fringe Fund 2023 (Phoebe Waller Bridge’s) and more. Performed at Latitude Festival 2023, Deer Shed festival 2023 & 2024, Glastonbury 2024 (and more...) and Hackney Empire hosted Sophie Duker in Wacky Racists. Founder/ MC of Misfit Comedy night. Performed on BBC Comedian of the Year on BBC Three.
Vera Chok (they/she) is a Philippe Gaulier trained actor, improviser, writer, and performance maker. Vera has played The National Theatre, West End, The Globe, and toured internationally. Screen credits include Honour (series regular Hollyoaks), Chewing Gum, and Chimerica. They devised and co-wrote The Paper Man (Improbable), Rice! (funded by The British Council) and award-winning feature film Dream Agency (Edinburgh International Film Fest). Producer of various alt comedy nights at Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club, Vera is currently performing their comedy solo show, Angry Yellow Woman, and doing stand up.
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