Celebrating 40 years at the Fringe with the Boss Wummin’
We’re officially into 2025, and I for one am very excited as it’s the Gilded Balloon’s 40th Anniversary Fringe this August – a big milestone for us, and we’ll be celebrating the company’s legacy and impact over the last four decades.
It’s hard to believe it’s been 40 years since I first started the company. It hasn’t always been easy, but seeing the incredible talent we’ve nurtured, many of whom are now household names, makes every challenge worth it. The anniversary is even more special with my daughter, Katy, who has thrived as my co-artistic director over the past few years. I am very proud of her and what she is achieving.
I have mentioned this in previous columns that Katy and I host a podcast, Boss Wummin’, where we offer a behind-the-scenes look at running a women-led live comedy and family business. It is now into its sixth season and within each episode, we discuss everything from the daily goings-on at Gilded Balloon to insightful conversations with inspiring figures from the arts and comedy industries.
It first started with Katy wanting to get information out of me on how I created the business in the first place and how she could learn from me on how to run this business.
We’ve had many guests from Jo Brand, Elaine C. Smith, Joyce MacMillian, Rosie Jones, Kaye Adams to Maisie Adam. We chat to our guests about their lives and how they got into their chosen careers and their relationship with their family and especially their mothers. We do not have guests every episode, Katy and I mainly try and decipher how to balance business, creativity and family. Our latest episode explores our exciting plans for a new venue at Fringe 2025, the challenges that come with it, and why resilience – something that’s kept me going for four decades – is so crucial to our journey.
Programming is already underway for this year’s celebrations, and I am having some very exciting conversations … But more on that in the coming months! January is a busy month as we dive back into curating and I’m confident we will uncover some incredible gems to showcase in this 40th Anniversary year and present some Fringe favourites from the Gilded Balloon archives. Here’s to a fantastic year ahead!
Boss Wummin’ is available to listen to on all major podcast platforms.