Abi Clarke

In the past, i.e. in the early 2020s comedians might have had the opportunity to perform for years in the UK before being invited on television panels and selling out arena tours. It's not easy at the moment. Comedy is a form of art that can remain performed the presence of a live audience, but we won't be having arena tours anytime in the near future. One Bristol comedian, however, has managed to find an enormous global audience during lockdown via social media. Finding internet fame is not something Abi Clarke had set out to attain. Abi Clarke is a young woman of 24 who lives in Henbury along with her parents, began making her first online videos to "build an online community of like-minded people who could appreciate my stand-up comedy." "I performed a variety of shows in the middle of Devon to males in their 50s who weren't quite so hot on my Love Island, Sims and Twilight references, so I decided to go online with the hopes to meet other young women who were able to relate to me." Abi has since been performing at Lakota Gardens since lockdown restrictions have eased, however, she continues to upload her videos on Instagram, Twitter and Tik Tok (where she recently surpassed 500,000 followers) In the process, she draws inspiration from sources as varied as her job in the cafe, conversations with a stranger or a girl group chat. She writes every idea down on her phone.