"Harnessing a sharp comedy sensibility to an arsenal of fascinating facts, she's a treat for anyone who matches a sense of humour with an inquiring mind." The Guardian
Helen Keen began her career by winning the first Channel 4 New Comedy Writing Award. Her 2008 debut solo show, It Is Rocket Science! won the Buxton Festival Fringe Award for Best Comedy Performance and extensively toured the UK & Ireland before being snapped up by BBC Radio 4. It has so far launched two popular and critically acclaimed series, also starring Peter Serafinowicz (Look Around You, The Peter Serafinowicz Show) and produced by Gareth Edwards (Mitchell & Webb, Spaced). A third series has been commissioned for 2013. She is currently the first Comedian in Residence at the Newcastle Centre for Life.
Also featured on:
Radio 4's The Infinite Monkey Cage
Live at the Electric BBC3
Radio 4’s Fourth Dimension
Woman’s Hour
BBC7's Comedy Club
“Embodies all the best things about intellectual comedy. Smart without being elitist, and with just the right amounts of sincerity and sarcasm” Spoonfed.co.uk
Here's a list of some of the work I do - in case you're wondering about booking me to host your corporate event/give a speech/impartially referee your Fighting Robot Death Match... Please do get in touch if you'd like to talk!
Corporates, conferences and conventions:
2013
Nine Worlds Geekfest
Crawley STEMfest
International Women's Day Women in Science event - Keynote Speaker
2012
Museum of Natural Curiosity - Live (Natural History Museum - with John Lloyd, Terry Pratchett)
Save the Rhino Dinner (London Zoo - with Terry Waite, Jon Culshaw, Robin Ince)
BBC Radio 4 and the Fringe (Panel member - BBC Edinburgh Fringe Masterclass)
National Association of Mathematics Advisers Conference
Boring Conference
Voice over for Planetarium show at Newcastle Centre for Life
The UnConvention - Fortean Times convention
Ig Nobel Events (various events London, Oxford University)
2011
British Science Festival (Bradford)
Royal Institution Ghosts of Christmas Lectures Past (Faraday Hall)
Astronomers Ball (Royal Greenwich Observatory)
7thingsmedia/geeks.co.uk Party
The UnConvention - Fortean Times convention (Westminster Hall)
Astrofest (Kensington Conference Centre)
Question, Explore Discover Convention - Science and Scepticism Conference
Institute of Physics Ireland AGM
2009
The Amaz!ng Meeting (Mermaid Conference Centre)
Science Museum Late - celebrating 50th anniversary of the Moon landings
Science Museum Trustees Event
Science Museum War of the Sexes - host
Other live shows
2013
Helen Keen's Spacetacular! - UK Space Agency Space For All Grant winning show (Leicester Square Theatre)
Bright Club - regular host at Bright Clubs across the UK
Big Bang Fair - with Professor Sophie Scott
Fame Lab - headliner
2012
9 Lessons & Carols for Godless People (Bloomsbury)
Douglas Adams 60th (Hammersmith Apollo)
Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition (Laughter Lab with Professor Sophie Scott)
SciFi london
Ada Lovelace Day - Live
2011
Infinite Monkey Cage tour - regular guest with Prof Brian Cox, Ben Goldacre, Simon Singh and Robin Ince
Out of this world: Science Fiction but not as you know it (British Library)
Brighton Digital Festival Comedy Night
Ada Lovelace Day - Live
2010
School for Gifted Children (Udderbelly South Bank)
Irish tour of It Is Rocket Science, sponsored by Institute of Physics Ireland
2009
Latitude Festival
Standon Calling Music Festival
Secret Garden Party
Night of 400 Billion Stars (Bloomsbury Theatre)
2008
Dana Centre performance It Is Rocket Science
Yuri's Night premier of It Is Rocket Science (Awarded Institute of Physics Public Engagement Grant)
Keen's one-woman stand-up shows It Is Rocket Science!, The Primitive Methodist Guide to Arctic Survival and Robot Woman of Tomorrow have also been performed at the following Science Festivals: Wrexham, Winchester, Cambridge, London, Newcastle, Manchester, Brighton, York, Dundee, Aberdeen and Edinburgh
and at the following Fringe Festivals: Edinburgh, Buxton, Henley, Camden and Brighton.
Helen Keen began her career by winning the first Channel 4 New Comedy Writing Award. Her 2008 debut solo show, It Is Rocket Science! won the Buxton Festival Fringe Award for Best Comedy Performance and extensively toured the UK & Ireland before being snapped up by BBC Radio 4. It has so far launched two popular and critically acclaimed series, also starring Peter Serafinowicz (Look Around You, The Peter Serafinowicz Show) and produced by Gareth Edwards (Mitchell & Webb, Spaced). A third series has been commissioned for 2013. She is currently the first Comedian in Residence at the Newcastle Centre for Life.
Also featured on:
Radio 4's The Infinite Monkey Cage
Live at the Electric BBC3
Radio 4’s Fourth Dimension
Woman’s Hour
BBC7's Comedy Club
“Embodies all the best things about intellectual comedy. Smart without being elitist, and with just the right amounts of sincerity and sarcasm” Spoonfed.co.uk
Here's a list of some of the work I do - in case you're wondering about booking me to host your corporate event/give a speech/impartially referee your Fighting Robot Death Match... Please do get in touch if you'd like to talk!
Corporates, conferences and conventions:
2013
Nine Worlds Geekfest
Crawley STEMfest
International Women's Day Women in Science event - Keynote Speaker
2012
Museum of Natural Curiosity - Live (Natural History Museum - with John Lloyd, Terry Pratchett)
Save the Rhino Dinner (London Zoo - with Terry Waite, Jon Culshaw, Robin Ince)
BBC Radio 4 and the Fringe (Panel member - BBC Edinburgh Fringe Masterclass)
National Association of Mathematics Advisers Conference
Boring Conference
Voice over for Planetarium show at Newcastle Centre for Life
The UnConvention - Fortean Times convention
Ig Nobel Events (various events London, Oxford University)
2011
British Science Festival (Bradford)
Royal Institution Ghosts of Christmas Lectures Past (Faraday Hall)
Astronomers Ball (Royal Greenwich Observatory)
7thingsmedia/geeks.co.uk Party
The UnConvention - Fortean Times convention (Westminster Hall)
Astrofest (Kensington Conference Centre)
Question, Explore Discover Convention - Science and Scepticism Conference
Institute of Physics Ireland AGM
2009
The Amaz!ng Meeting (Mermaid Conference Centre)
Science Museum Late - celebrating 50th anniversary of the Moon landings
Science Museum Trustees Event
Science Museum War of the Sexes - host
Other live shows
2013
Helen Keen's Spacetacular! - UK Space Agency Space For All Grant winning show (Leicester Square Theatre)
Bright Club - regular host at Bright Clubs across the UK
Big Bang Fair - with Professor Sophie Scott
Fame Lab - headliner
2012
9 Lessons & Carols for Godless People (Bloomsbury)
Douglas Adams 60th (Hammersmith Apollo)
Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition (Laughter Lab with Professor Sophie Scott)
SciFi london
Ada Lovelace Day - Live
2011
Infinite Monkey Cage tour - regular guest with Prof Brian Cox, Ben Goldacre, Simon Singh and Robin Ince
Out of this world: Science Fiction but not as you know it (British Library)
Brighton Digital Festival Comedy Night
Ada Lovelace Day - Live
2010
School for Gifted Children (Udderbelly South Bank)
Irish tour of It Is Rocket Science, sponsored by Institute of Physics Ireland
2009
Latitude Festival
Standon Calling Music Festival
Secret Garden Party
Night of 400 Billion Stars (Bloomsbury Theatre)
2008
Dana Centre performance It Is Rocket Science
Yuri's Night premier of It Is Rocket Science (Awarded Institute of Physics Public Engagement Grant)
Keen's one-woman stand-up shows It Is Rocket Science!, The Primitive Methodist Guide to Arctic Survival and Robot Woman of Tomorrow have also been performed at the following Science Festivals: Wrexham, Winchester, Cambridge, London, Newcastle, Manchester, Brighton, York, Dundee, Aberdeen and Edinburgh
and at the following Fringe Festivals: Edinburgh, Buxton, Henley, Camden and Brighton.