Olga_Koch

Olga Koch

Olga Koch

Russian-born British stand-up comedian (born 1992)

Olga Alfredovna Koch (Russian: Ольга Альфредовна Кох; born 1 September 1992)[1] is a Russian-British stand-up comedian, writer, and actress.

Quick Facts Born, Nationality ...

Education and early life

Koch was born 1 September 1992 in Saint Petersburg,[2] the daughter of Alfred Koch, head of the State Committee for State Property Management of the Russian Federation from 1996 to 1997.[3]

When she was 13, her family moved to the UK, settling in Surrey, where she was educated at The American School in England.[4] She studied computer science[5] at New York University where she also trained at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre.[6]

Career

Koch's first show, entitled Me, Me, Me, was in 2016. This was followed by Data Night and Good Vibes in 2017.[4] In 2018 she was nominated for Best Newcomer at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards for her debut hour, Fight.[3] She was named Quantum Leopard Champion of Champions for 2018, jointly with Zoë Tomalin.[7]

Koch regularly appears in line-ups for charity shows, most notably hosting Canned Laughter's Karaoke Roulette.[8]

She has appeared on The Now Show, Mock the Week, Pls Like, Richard Osman's House of Games, Pointless Celebrities, 7 Days, and QI, and written for Newsjack and BBC Three's A Quickie in the Office.[9][10]

In 2020 Koch hosted a web series for Dave, Bad Advice with Olga Koch.[11][12][13]

In November 2020 a recording of her show If/Then was and released as a vinyl record by Monkey Barrel Records.[14]

In 2021, Koch and Hussein Kesvani presented Human Error, a weekly comedy-technology podcast for BBC Sounds.[15]

In July 2021, Olga Koch: OK Computer (a pun on Radiohead album title OK Computer) debuted on BBC Radio 4,[5] and renewed in 2023.[16]

In 2022, her BBC Radio 4 show Olga Koch: Fight[17] won the Best Radio Comedy category at the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain's WGGB Writers' Guild Awards.[18]

In March 2022 she was working on a show called Just Friends (work-in-progress),[19] and touring the work by 21 October 2022.[20] On 2023-12-16, her show Just Friends, filmed at Soho Theatre Dean Street,[21] was released on the 800 Pound Gorilla Media free YouTube channel.[22]

In May 2022, her show Homecoming was released on Amazon Prime as part of Soho Theatre Live.[23]

In September 2022, Koch and Geoff Norcott began presenting a podcast for Late Night Mash.[24]

In 2022, Koch appeared in the third series of Mel Giedroyc: Unforgivable,[25] filming took place in July 2022.

Olga Koch: Prawn Cocktail ("how I went to Japan with a stranger I met at a wedding"[26]) was a work-in-progress for Edinburgh Fringe 2023.[27][28]

In September 2023, it was announced she would be part of the next Live at the Apollo TV series,[29] with Lara Ricote, Celya AB, Rachel Fairburn, Emmanuel Sonubi, Glenn Moore, Ria Lina and Lou Sanders among others.

On 23 February 2024, Koch was a guest on the British podcast No Such Thing as a Fish, No Such Thing As A Noice Computer.[30][31][32][33]

In January 2024, Koch was touring Olga Koch: Prawn Cocktail ("how I went to Japan with a stranger I met at a wedding"[26]) in Great Britain, Australia, and New Zealand, as a produced show, while also touring Olga Koch Comes From Money, as a work-in-progress.[34]

Personal life

Out of fear of persecution by the Russian authorities,[17][35] Koch's parents fled to Germany in June 2014.[36] As of 2015, they live on Lake Chiemsee in Rosenheim, Bavaria.[37][38] Koch lives in The Angel, London[39] and is bisexual.[40][41]

References

  1. [1]
    Olga Koch [@rocknrolga] (29 August 2018). "OH MY GOD IT'S ALSO MY BIRTHDAY ON SATURDAY 🙈🙈🙈" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  2. [2]
    "Comedian Olga Koch says she feels like she's speaking for all Russians when she goes onstage". standard.co.uk. Evening Standard. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
  3. [3]
    Logan, Brian (27 August 2018). "Olga Koch review – from Russia with love and oligarchs". theguardian.com. The Guardian.
  4. [4]
    Dessau, Bruce (6 June 2018). "Comedian Olga Koch says she feels like she's speaking for all Russians when she goes onstage". standard.co.uk. Evening Standard.
  5. [5]
    Koch, Olga (8 July 2021). "OK Computer". bbc.co.uk. BBC. Archived from the original on 2 May 2022.
  6. [6]
    "Olga Koch, comedian tour dates". chortle.co.uk. Powder Blue Internet Business Solutions.
  7. [7]
    "Quantum Leopard Comedy [post]". Facebook. 1 January 2020. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  8. [8]
    Hawkins, Si (25 October 2019). "First Gig, Worst Gig - Olga Koch". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  9. [9]
    "Olga Koch". British Comedy Guide.
  10. [10]
    Mock The Week [@MockTheWeek] (30 May 2019). "Show Day! Joining Dara and Hugh this week are @TheNewsAtGlenn @AngelaBarnes @tomallencomedy @EdGambleComedy and first timer @rocknrolga tune in to #BBC2 at 10pm" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  11. [11]
    Bad Advice with Olga Koch (12 February 2022). "Monica Heisey Roasts Disney Adults". youtube. Dave. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  12. [12]
    "Bad Advice With Olga Koch - Chat Show". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  13. [13]
    Dave. "Bad Advice with Olga Koch". facebook.com. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  14. [14]
    "Monkey Barrel Records". Crowdfunder UK. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  15. [15]
    "Human Error - Downloads". BBC Sounds. BBC. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  16. [16]
    "Olga Koch: OK Computer, Series 2, 1. Fun". BBC Radio 4. BBC. 22 May 2023. Archived from the original on 23 May 2023. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  17. [17]
    "Olga Koch: Fight". BBC Radio 4. BBC. 26 October 2019. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  18. [18]
    "Writers' Guild Awards winners". Writers' Guild of Great Britain. 14 February 2022. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  19. [19]
    "Olga Koch: Just Friends (WIP) - performances". Pleasance Theatre Trust. Archived from the original on 15 February 2022. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  20. [20]
  21. [21]
    https://sohotheatre.com/events/olga-koch-just-friends/
  22. [22]
    Olga Koch (16 December 2023). "Just Friends". YouTube. 800 Pound Gorilla Media. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  23. [23]
    "Release date set for Soho Theatre Live season three". instagram.com. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  24. [24]
    "Late Night Mash podcast with Geoff Norcott and Olga Koch launches". UKTV Corporate Site. 1 September 2022. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  25. [25]
    Mel Giedroyc: Unforgivable (8 November 2022). "Why Olga Koch's Finger Nails Smell Of 💩". youtube. Dave. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  26. [26]
    Logan, Brian (11 August 2023). "Olga Koch: Prawn Cocktail review – a comic in full control of her material". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  27. [27]
    "Olga Koch: Prawn Cocktail : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". chortle.co.uk. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  28. [28]
    "Olga Koch: Prawn Cocktail". Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Monkey Barrel Comedy, 9-12 Blair St. Retrieved 28 May 2023. Jul 31; Aug 1-27{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  29. [29]
    "Comedians Confirmed For Next Series of Live at the Apollo". Beyond The Joke. 19 September 2023. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  30. [30]
    https://www.podchaser.com/creators/olga-koch-107a9AyYdV/appearances
  31. [31]
    "BBC Sounds - No Such Thing As A Fish - Available Episodes". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  32. [32]
    "No Such Thing As A Fish - No Such Thing As A Noice Computer - BBC Sounds". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  33. [33]
    Ep 519: No Such Thing As A Noice Computer, retrieved 28 February 2024
  34. [34]
    https://web.archive.org/web/20240107002911/https://www.rocknrolga.com/
  35. [35]
    "Olga Koch: Fight - Radio 4 Stand-Up". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  36. [36]
    SPIEGEL, Benjamin Bidder, DER (8 September 2014). "Ukraine: Russland jagt die Intellektuellen aus dem Land - DER SPIEGEL - Politik". Der Spiegel.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  37. [37]
    "Trotzdem kämpfen sie weiter: Nach dem Mord an Boris Nemzow geht in russischen Oppositionskreisen die Angst um. Alle fragen sich: Wer ist der Nächste?" [Nevertheless, they continue to fight: After the murder of Boris Nemtsov, there is fear in Russian opposition circles. Everyone is asking: who is next?]. Südkurier (in German). 4 March 2015. Archived from the original on 8 March 2015. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  38. [38]
    "Плата за красивую жизнь: Альфред Кох объявлен в федеральный розыск" [Paying for a beautiful life: Alfred Koch put on the federal wanted list]. «Ве́сти» (vesti.ru) (in Russian). 23 November 2015. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  39. [39]
    CANCELLED w/ Olga Koch, archived from the original on 13 May 2021, retrieved 7 May 2021{{citation}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  40. [40]
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwANuKZE1gg
  41. [41]
    Love Island Aftersun, archived from the original on 27 November 2022, retrieved 15 July 2023{{citation}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Olga_Koch, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.