AWARD-winning comedian – and one of the stars of the popular Oxfordshire Mind Comedy Gala – Olga Koch is bringing her new show to Oxford tonight.

The Russian-born, American-raised funnywoman will be playing a Jericho Comedy gig in a new venue, called the Common Ground Cafe.

The venue is housed in a former Barclays Bank building in Little Clarendon Street.

The Edinburgh Comedy Award-nominated stand-up will be asking what it means to belong and where is home.

It will see Olga try to figure out who she is, as an immigrant and self-declared ‘drama queen’.

She said: “After various attempts to bring this show to life, I – a stand-up comedian who hopefully hasn’t forgotten how to do stand-up – cannot wait to bring this feel-good extravaganza to an audience – who hopefully hasn’t forgotten how to laugh.”

She added: “I wanted to write a stand-up show without an overarching narrative; a show that wouldn’t make people think, but instead simply make them laugh. . . Remember laughing?

“I’m here for a good time, not a long time – so, Oxford, let me rock your world!”

This is Oxfordshire:

Hailed as a natural storyteller, Olga has a powerful energy and warmth that speaks directly to her audience.

Following previous shows at the Oxford Playhouse and Jericho Tavern, Olga has released two podcasts with BBC Sounds – Human Error and Tech Tech Boom – and her own BBC Radio 4 show, Ok Computer.

She has appeared on Late Night Mash on Dave and on Richard Osman’s House of Games on BBC 2.

She has also debuted her own comedy chat show, Bad Advice with Olga Koch, also on Dave, in which she sets out to help her followers with their problems.

This is Oxfordshire: Olga Koch. Picture: Rachel Sherlock

She describes herself as ‘an agony aunt whose answers may actually cause agony’.

Olga was nominated for the Best Newcomer Award at the 2018 Edinburgh Fringe with her debut hour, Fight, which was a multimedia extravaganza that took her audience through the making of modern Russia.

The show went on to have a successful 2019 UK tour, was commissioned and aired as a special for BBC Radio 4 and is now being adapted as a sitcom for television.

Olga’s second show, If/Then, debuted at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival before touring the UK and was nominated for Best Show at Leicester Comedy Festival.

If/Then is also being developed for television.

  • Tickets are £15.40, including booking fee, and can be bought via the website berksnest.com/olga