what we do
luh-may·oh·nayz
LMAOnaise started in 2020 as a weekly newsletter sending a selection of the best upcoming comedy shows straight into your inbox.
And it still is a newsletter! But it’s also so much more. It’s a magazine. It’s a newspaper. It’s a vibe. It’s the result of a pandemic-inflicted emotional, personal and industry-wide crisis. At one point that now feels like a fever dream it was a LIVE SHOW.
LMAOnaise is about the comedy we love the most. So expect to read about everything from the best new stand-ups to the wonderfully weird alternative stuff you rarely get to read about. We want to give some column inches to those acts the big sites and publications often leave out.
This is for those of us who can’t live without the regular laughs, and want to support the comedians who deliver them.
WINNER of the Best Entertainment & Culture Newsletter at the Media Voices Publisher Newsletter Awards 2024
Shortlisted for the Women in Journalism Georgina Henry Award at the British Journalism Awards 2023
house rules
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house rules 〰️
Everything is personal
Comedy is entirely subjective. Duh-doy. Journalists are often hung up on everything being unbiased and objective. NOT HERE. It’s impossible with comedy. We are proudly biased. Everything that we recommend is there because we back it. We don’t publicise a show in the newsletter just because we’re sent it, and if there’s something harmful or unpleasant, we’re not going to amplify it just because it will get clicks. There is a reason behind everything we publish, and you should be able to see upfront what our biases are.
LMAOnaise exists as a positive space for promoting comedy and fun times with pals. For this reason we have some rules:
No all-white line-ups
We will never recommend mixed-bill comedy nights that are just white people. No explanation needed.
Vocally inclusive
Live comedy has been and often continues to be pretty hostile to women, queer people, people of colour…not straight white men basically. This is why we make a point of being explicit, not implicit, in how important it is to us to make extra space for these voices.
No negative reviews
We began as a service to recommend shows to people who love comedy, and this is our approach to reviewing. If we didn’t like it, or if the performer was having an off day, we don’t think that needs to exist permanently online. Constructive criticism is useful, but our style is talking about why we love the things that we love.
No star ratings
We don’t love the reliance on star ratings. We are of the belief that you can’t boil humour down to a points system, and rating a comedy show out of five doesn’t really help performers or audiences, so we won’t be using stars. The comedy reviewing world has been built by handful of men, and we want to sprinkle in a bit of variety. Who says we have to do it like they do?
who we are
The LMAOracles
Zoë Paskett
founder & editor
Zoë writes the newsletters and reviews, as well as editing and designing the website and newspaper. She is qualified to recommend comedy due to her impeccable taste* and a history of writing about comedy and the arts for national and local publications.
She sometimes reviews for Funny Women, and doesn’t like star ratings and thinks reviewers should consider not giving them.
*Maddy said this once and Zoë took it to heart.
Maddy Bye
co-founder & producer
Maddy is half of sketch group Siblings (with her sister Marina), as well as one of the hardest working producers in the biz. She produced the hell out of the single LMAOnaise Live we streamed from the Clapham Grand during the pandemic.
She runs comedy night Siblings & Family Friends, and is a producer for Impatient Productions. She occasionally acts as Zoë’s emotional support comedian.
Georgia House
print designer & photographer
Georgia is our resident creative person for all things print and was integral in bringing the newspaper to life, from photographing and designing the cover to creating artwork and badges for our crowdfunding rewards.
She is an extraordinarily talented producer and can craft just about anything your hearts could desire (all comedy merch commissions to Georgia immediately, please).
Michael Julings
logo designer
Michael is a designer and comedy director, who made our gorgeous LMAOnaise logos. He runs Piñata, a comedy collective a hosting an awesome monthly variety night, and free new material night in south London.
For Zoë’s birthday, he made her a personalised jar of mayo with all the original mock-ups for our mayo logo lady. It remains unopened but she worships it.
