Luisa Omielan: Hip Hop, Glamour and Women

“It’s a show that started out for the girls and the gays,” says Luisa Omielan, star of What Would Beyoncé Do?!, a show that is standup comedy but an awful lot more fun.

“It was for the 20-something woman like myself that wanted something ridiculous and fun. I found it funny, so I made my show for my kind of audience. This is very much a show that’s not for the traditional crowds where girls come because of their boyfriend.”

What Would Beyoncé Do?! is a hilarious, hyperactive one-woman epic, combining intelligent standup with a lot of dancing to Ms Knowles’s greatest hits. The show was a big sleeper hit at last year’s Fringe, despite not having much press or advertising. Since then, Omielan’s picked up a big-time promoter and had a successful run at London’s Soho Theatre. So what is it about the show that grabs people?

“I think a lot of it was in the title. It’s not a traditional stand up show, so having Beyoncé in the title , hopefully translated as Music, Hip Hop, Glamour and Women. Also word of mouth and people power. I had no industry support at the time and was just counting on delivering the best show I could and hoped that people would love it. Luckily the people that came along were very supportive of that.”

Omeilan’s career seems to be skyrocketing at a time when Beyoncé herself has stumbled a bit over her lip-synching scandal. Has any of that affected her opinion of her idol? “Hell no!” says Omielan. “That woman could come out with a cassette player and sing along to herself with a hairbrush and I wouldn't care.”