Deborah Frances-White | |
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![]() Deborah Frances-White at the 68th BFI London Film Festival premiere of That Christmas on 19 October 2024 | |
Born | [1] Redcliffe, Queensland, Australia [2] | 10 December 1967
Medium | Stand-up, improvisation, Podcast |
Nationality | British, Australian |
Alma mater | Harris Manchester College, Oxford |
Years active | 2007–present |
Genres | Observational humour, Self-help, storytelling |
Subject(s) | Feminism, religion |
Spouse | Tom Salinsky |
Notable works and roles | The Guilty Feminist |
Website | www |
Deborah Frances-White (born 10 December 1967 [3] ) is a London-based comedian, author and screenwriter. [4] She has both British and Australian citizenship. [5] She hosts the podcasts Global Pillage and The Guilty Feminist . [6] She wrote the 2018 comedy film Say My Name .
Frances-White was born in Australia and adopted at ten days old. [7] She grew up in Brisbane, Queensland. Her family converted to Jehovah’s Witnesses when she was a teenager; Frances-White has since left the community and describes herself as an atheist. [8] During her gap year, she moved to London and later studied English at Harris Manchester College, Oxford University. [9]
Frances-White is one of three directors at the improv theatre company The Spontaneity Shop, which she co-founded with Tom Salinsky in 1996. [10] After developing a number of improvisation formats at The Spontaneity Shop (including the improvised romantic comedy DreamDate which had a pilot made for ITV [11] ), Frances-White turned to stand-up comedy. Her first significant solo show was How to Get Almost Anyone to Want to Sleep With You which she performed at The Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2007 [12] and at The Melbourne International Comedy Festival in 2008 [13] where she also hosted The Melbourne International Comedy Festival Roadshow. [14]
Frances-White's recent shows have been more personal. Cult Following (2012) dealt with her experiences as a teenage Jehovah's Witness, [15] Half a Can of Worms (2013) was about tracking down her biological family [16] and Friend of a Friend of Dorothy (2015) was about feminism, sexism and homophobia. [17]
Frances-White has continued to develop new improvisation formats. Voices in Your Head is a show which allows comedians, improvisers and actors to create comedy characters while the audience watches. Guests have included Phill Jupitus, Sara Pascoe, Russell Tovey, Mike McShane and Hannibal Buress. [18] In 2015 she created The Beau Zeaux a long-form improvised comedy featuring a rotating cast including Marcus Brigstocke, Thom Tuck, Rachel Parris, Brendan Murphy, Ed Coleman, Milly Thomas and Pippa Evans. [19] Guests have included Russell Tovey [20] and Dan Starkey.
Her BBC Radio 4 series Deborah Frances-White Rolls the Dice was first broadcast in spring 2015 [21] and featured stories about her adoption, green card marriage, and the quest to find her biological family. The episodes were titled "Half a Can of Worms", "Cult Following", "Visa Issues" and "Who's Your Daddy"? In January 2016, the show won Frances-White the Writers' Guild of Great Britain award for "Best Radio Comedy". [22] A second series was first broadcast in autumn 2016. [23]
On television, Frances-White has appeared as a guest on Mock the Week , Politics Live and Tonight With Vladimir Putin . [24]
With Sofie Hagen, she created the podcast The Guilty Feminist . She is also the creator and host of the podcast Global Pillage, a long running comedy panel show that blends comedy, intersectional feminism and politics. In 2019, The Guilty Feminist and Amnesty International joined forces for the Secret Policeman’s Tour , consisting of three shows with comedy, music and discussion, all in support of human rights. [25] In 2023, The Guilty Feminist also launched Media Storm, a news podcast hosted by journalists Mathilda Mallinson and Helena Wadia. [26] Deborah also created and hosted the intersectional comedy panel show Global Pillage, which pits teams of comedians and commentators against each other and the hive mind of the audience.
Frances-White regularly appears at corporate events speaking about confidence, charisma, diversity and sexism. [27] Her TEDx talk on Charisma vs Stage-Fright [28] was cited by James Caan as the secret of his presenting skills. [29]
With her writing partner Philippa Waller, Frances-White contributed two episodes of Young Dracula in 2014. [24] She has co-written two books: The Improv Handbook with Tom Salinsky [30] and Off the Mic with Marsha Shandur, [31] both published by Bloomsbury. She writes for Standard Issue Magazine. [32] In 2018, Virago published The Guilty Feminist, a spin-off from her podcast. [33] Her debut feature film, the comedy thriller Say My Name , [34] premiered on 19 March 2019.
Frances-White became a Jehovah's Witness while still a teenager. Her years in the religion and how she left it were the focus of her 2012 Edinburgh Fringe stand-up comedy show and two of the episodes of her BBC Radio 4 show Deborah Frances-White Rolls the Dice. [21] [35]