{{short description|British stand-up comedian, writer and actress}} {{Sources exist|date=July 2025}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2015}} {{Use British English|date=July 2015}} {{Infobox person | image = Elf Lyons at the 2024 Edinburgh Festival Fringe 3 (cropped).jpg | caption = Lyons at the 2024 Edinburgh Festival Fringe | name = Elf Lyons | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1991|06|10|df=y}} | death_date = | occupation = Comedian, writer, actress | parents = Gerard Lyons<br>Anette Lyons | education = Bristol University BA<br>Queen Mary University of London MA }} '''Emily-Anne "Elf" Lyons''' (born 10 June 1991) is a British stand-up comedian, writer and actress.
==Early life== Lyons is the daughter of economist Gerard Lyons.<ref name="reuters"/><ref name=Weigand/><ref name="Telegraph"/> Her mother, Annette, is a painter and she has two siblings.<ref name=Weigand>{{cite news|author=Chris Weigand | url= https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2019/mar/18/comedy-economy-elf-lyons-standup-chiffchaff |title= It's the comedy economy, stupid! Elf Lyons on the true cost of standup | newspaper=The Guardian | date=18 March 2019|accessdate=10 July 2019}}</ref><ref name="reuters">{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-festival-edinburgh-lyons/british-comic-elf-lyons-makes-economics-a-laughing-matter-idUSKCN1L919L|title=British comic Elf Lyons makes economics a laughing matter|author=Barbara Lewis|date=24 August 2018|accessdate=10 July 2019|publisher=Reuters News}}</ref><ref name="Telegraph"/> She earned a BA in Drama from Bristol University and an MA in Theatre & Performance from Queen Mary University of London.<ref name=Fisher>Fisher, Jo. [https://www.broadwayworld.com/westend/article/BWW-Interview-Elf-Lyons-Talks-MEDUSA-at-Nuffield-Southampton-Theatres-20181011 "BWW Interview: Elf Lyons Talks MEDUSA at Nuffield Southampton Theatres"], BroadwayWorld.com, 11 October 2018</ref> She then studied at École Philippe Gaulier in Étampes, France.<ref name=Weigand/><ref name="Telegraph">{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/family/grandparents/i-moved-in-with-my-grandmother-to-help-me-understand-my-mother/|title=I moved in with my grandmother to help me understand my mother|author=Louisa Pritchard|date=14 August 2016|accessdate=10 July 2019|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph}}</ref>
== Career ==
Elf Lyons is a performer and writer known for her one-woman shows that combine theatrical spectacle, clowning, and comedy. UK theatre critic Lyn Gardner described her work in 2020 as “undefinable, which is always a good thing. Her shows break the boundaries that put theatre, comedy and performance art in distinct boxes.”<ref name="Gardner2020">Gardner, Lyn (2020). "Review of Elf Lyons' work". ''The Stage''.</ref> Similarly, Brian Logan of ''The Guardian'' wrote in 2022 that Lyons “can’t be accused of treading the conventional career path since none of her shows ever remotely resembles the next.”<ref name="Logan2022">{{ cite web | url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2023/aug/09/elf-and-duffy-heist-review-comedy-monkey-barrel-at-the-tron-edinburgh | title=Elf and Duffy: Heist review – harum-scarum comedy havoc | author=Logan, Brian | date=9 Aug 2023 | publisher=The Guardian }}</ref>
In 2017, after returning from studying at the École Philippe Gaulier, Lyons was nominated for the Edinburgh Comedy Award for Best Show and the Malcolm Hardee award for Comic Originality for her show ''Swan''—a comedic re-imagining of ''Swan Lake''. The show toured internationally, appearing at the Adelaide Fringe and Fringe World in Perth in 2018, where it was named Pick of the Fringe in Adelaide and nominated for Best Comedy Show at Fringe World. ''Fest Magazine'' awarded the show four stars.”<ref name="Fest2018">{{ cite web | url=https://www.thestage.co.uk/opinion/categorising-boundary-breaking-edinburgh-shows-is-getting-harder-lyn-gardner | title=Elf Lyons: Swan | publisher=Fest | date=4 Mar 2018 | author=Boden, Justin }}</ref>
In 2018, Lyons debuted ''ChiffChaff'' at the Edinburgh Fringe. Stephen Maxwell of ''The Times'' described the show as “expert clowning that’s by turns charming, silly, touching, and catastrophic.”<ref name="Times2018">Maxwell, Stephen (2018). "Review of ChiffChaff". ''The Times''.</ref> Later that year, Lyons premiered ''Medusa'' at the Nuffield Theatre in Southampton, which ''Broadway World'' called “in-your-face and not afraid to be itself, or to get straight to the point.”<ref name="BroadwayWorld2018">{{ cite web | url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/westend/article/BWW-Review-MEDUSA-Nuffield-Southampton-Theatres-20181011 | title=Review: MEDUSA, Nuffield Southampton Theatres | publisher=Broadway World | date=Oct 11, 2018 | author=Fisher, Jo }}</ref> Following this production, Lyons experienced a spinal injury, which influenced her subsequent work.<ref name="SpinalInjury2019">"Elf Lyons' Recovery and Performance Influence". ''BBC Arts'' (2019).</ref>
In 2019, Lyons toured her solo show ''Love Songs to Guinea Pigs'', which explored her recovery from spinal surgery. The following year, she debuted two new shows: ''Gorgon: A Horror Story'', an immersive horror experience at the Vault Festival, and ''Unlikely Darlings'', a collaboration with Helen Duff exploring the life of painter Leonora Carrington. ''Unlikely Darlings'' was selected as one of ''The Daily Telegraph's'' Top Cultural Moments of 2020.<ref name="Telegraph2020">{{ cite web | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/theatre/what-to-see/50-best-cultural-events-2020/ | title=The 50 best cultural events of 2020 | date=12 December 2020 | publisher=The Daily Telegraph }}</ref>
In 2022, Lyons premiered ''Raven'', a comedy-horror show inspired by trauma and the works of Stephen King, at the Edinburgh Fringe. The show received critical acclaim, earning five stars from ''The Telegraph'' and being included in their list of best Fringe shows that year.<ref name="Cavendish2022">{{ cite web | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/comedy/what-to-see/edinburgh-fringe-reviews-2022-best-comedy-shows-awards-highlights/ | publisher=The Daily Telegraph | title=Edinburgh Fringe comedy reviews: the best shows of 2022, from Sam Campbell to Lara Ricote | date=27 August 2022 }}</ref> ''Raven'' won Best Show at the Reykjavík Fringe in 2024<ref name="Reykjavik2024">"Best Show at Reykjavik Fringe 2024". ''Fringe Review''.</ref> and Best Comedy at the Adelaide Fringe the same year.<ref name="Adelaide2024">"Best Comedy at Adelaide Fringe 2024". ''Adelaide Fringe Awards''.</ref>
In 2023, Lyons made her stage debut at the Arcola Theatre, playing Rachel in Lisa Carroll's play ''The Misandrist''.<ref name="Misandrist2023">"Review of The Misandrist". ''Arcola Theatre Review'' (2023).</ref> She also created and performed ''Heist'', a two-hander mime show in British Sign Language and Visual Vernacular, alongside deaf performer Duffy at the Soho Theatre. The show was nominated for the Neurodiverse Review’s Deaf Action Deaf Excellence Award.<ref name="DeafAction2023">"Deaf Excellence Award Nominee: Heist". ''Neurodiverse Review'' (2023).</ref>
In 2024, Lyons’s show ''Horses'' achieved widespread success at the Edinburgh Fringe, receiving ten five-star reviews and winning multiple awards, including the (ISH) Edinburgh Comedy Award for Best Show, the Comedian’s Choice Award for Best Show, and the Mervyn Stutter Spirit of the Fringe Award.<ref name="Horses2024">"Horses: Award-Winning Show". ''Edinburgh Fringe Review'' (2024).</ref>
Lyons has appeared on television programs such as ''The Dog Ate My Homework'', ''The Stand-Up Sketch Show'', and ''Comedians Giving Lectures''. She has been featured on radio shows and podcasts including ''Classical Fix'' (BBC Radio 3), ''Loose Ends'' (BBC Radio 4), ''Unexpected Fluids'' (BBC Radio 1), and ''Evil Genius'' (BBC Sounds), and has contributed writing to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Scotsman'' on topics such as polyamory<ref>{{ cite web | url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/jul/23/polyamory-new-way-to-love-men-women-sex-relationships-elf-lyons | title=A new way to love: in praise of polyamory | author=Lyons, Elf | date=23 Jul 2017 | publisher=The Guardian }}</ref> and the importance of play.<ref>{{ cite web | title=Clown Elf Lyons explains why it's so important to be silly | url=https://www.scotsman.com/arts-and-culture/edinburgh-festivals/clown-elf-lyons-explains-why-its-so-important-to-be-silly-4710405 | date=28 Jul 2024 | author=Lyons, Elf | publisher=The Scotsman }}</ref>
== References == <references />
==External links== {{commons category}} *{{Official website}} *[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCT9HDqrC8ew0197-b2GSmNA/featured YouTube channel]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lyons, Elf}} Category:1991 births Category:Place of birth missing (living people) Category:Living people Category:Alumni of Queen Mary University of London Category:Alumni of the University of Bristol Category:English stand-up comedians Category:British women comedians