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Olga Koch

Olga Koch
Koch at the 2024 Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Born
Olga Alfredovna Kokh

(1992-09-01) 1 September 1992 (age 32)
Saint Petersburg, Russia
NationalityRussian, British
EducationTASIS England
Alma materNew York University
OccupationStand-up comedian
Years active2016–present
Notable workBBC Radio 4’s Olga Koch: Fight, Just Friends, If/Then, Homecoming
AwardsWGGB Writers' Guild Awards for Best Radio Comedy Show
Websitewww.rocknrolga.com Edit this at Wikidata

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

Education and early life

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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. While in New York she also trained at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre.[6]

Career

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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][21][22][23] On 2023-12-16, her show Just Friends, filmed at Soho Theatre Dean Street,[24] was released on the 800 Pound Gorilla Media free YouTube channel.[25]

In May 2022, her show Homecoming was released on Amazon Prime as part of Soho Theatre Live.[26]

In September 2022, Koch and Geoff Norcott began presenting a podcast for Late Night Mash.[27]

In 2022, Koch appeared in the third series of Mel Giedroyc: Unforgivable,[28] filming took place in July 2022.

Olga Koch: Prawn Cocktail ("how I went to Japan with a stranger I met at a wedding"[29]) was a work-in-progress for Edinburgh Fringe 2023.[30][31]

In September 2023, it was announced she would be part of the next Live at the Apollo TV series,[32] 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.[33][34][35][36]

In January 2024, Koch was touring Olga Koch: Prawn Cocktail ("how I went to Japan with a stranger I met at a wedding"[29]) in Great Britain, Australia, and New Zealand, as a produced show, while also touring Olga Koch Comes From Money, as a work-in-progress.[37]

Koch currently co-hosts the comedy podcast Glue Factory alongside fellow comedians Milo Edwards, Pierre Novellie and Riley Quinn.

Personal life

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Out of fear of persecution by the Russian authorities,[17][38] Koch's parents fled to Germany in June 2014.[39] As of 2015, they live on Lake Chiemsee in Rosenheim, Bavaria.[40][41] Koch lives in Angel, London,[42] and is bisexual.[43][44]

References

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  1. ^ Olga Koch [@rocknrolga] (29 August 2018). "OH MY GOD IT'S ALSO MY BIRTHDAY ON SATURDAY 🙈🙈🙈" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  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. ^ a b Logan, Brian (27 August 2018). "Olga Koch review – from Russia with love and oligarchs". The Guardian.
  4. ^ a b 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. ^ a b Koch, Olga (8 July 2021). "OK Computer". bbc.co.uk. BBC. Archived from the original on 2 May 2022.
  6. ^ "Olga Koch, comedian tour dates". chortle.co.uk. Powder Blue Internet Business Solutions.
  7. ^ "Quantum Leopard Comedy [post]". Facebook. 1 January 2020. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  8. ^ Hawkins, Si (25 October 2019). "First Gig, Worst Gig - Olga Koch". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  9. ^ "Olga Koch". British Comedy Guide.
  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. ^ Bad Advice with Olga Koch (12 February 2022). "Monica Heisey Roasts Disney Adults". youtube. Dave. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  12. ^ "Bad Advice With Olga Koch - Chat Show". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  13. ^ Dave. "Bad Advice with Olga Koch". facebook.com. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  14. ^ "Monkey Barrel Records". Crowdfunder UK. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  15. ^ "Human Error - Downloads". BBC Sounds. BBC. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  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. ^ a b "Olga Koch: Fight". BBC Radio 4. BBC. 26 October 2019. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  18. ^ "Writers' Guild Awards winners". Writers' Guild of Great Britain. 14 February 2022. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  19. ^ "Olga Koch: Just Friends (WIP) - performances". Pleasance Theatre Trust. Archived from the original on 15 February 2022. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  20. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20220614070048/https://whatsonreading.com/venues/south-street/whats-on/olga-koch-just-friends[dead link‍]
  21. ^ "Hilarious Heartbreaker Olga Koch Will Leave You Desperate To Be 'Just Friends' – 800 Pound Gorilla". 800poundgorillamedia.com. 28 November 2023. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
  22. ^ Crae, Ross (18 August 2022). "Edinburgh Fringe review: Olga Koch, Just Friends". The Sunday Post. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
  23. ^ Olga Koch: Just Friends at South Street, 21 October 2022. Retrieved 15 May 2024 – via www.youtube.com.
  24. ^ "Olga Koch: Just Friends". Soho Theatre. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
  25. ^ Olga Koch (16 December 2023). "Just Friends". YouTube. 800 Pound Gorilla Media. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  26. ^ "Release date set for Soho Theatre Live season three". instagram.com. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  27. ^ "Late Night Mash podcast with Geoff Norcott and Olga Koch launches". UKTV Corporate Site. 1 September 2022. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  28. ^ Mel Giedroyc: Unforgivable (8 November 2022). "Why Olga Koch's Finger Nails Smell Of 💩". youtube. Dave. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  29. ^ a b 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.
  30. ^ "Olga Koch: Prawn Cocktail : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". chortle.co.uk. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  31. ^ "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)
  32. ^ "Comedians Confirmed For Next Series of Live at the Apollo". Beyond The Joke. 19 September 2023. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  33. ^ https://www.podchaser.com/creators/olga-koch-107a9AyYdV/appearances [bare URL]
  34. ^ "BBC Sounds - No Such Thing As A Fish - Available Episodes". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  35. ^ "No Such Thing As A Fish - No Such Thing As A Noice Computer - BBC Sounds". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  36. ^ Ep 519: No Such Thing As A Noice Computer, 22 February 2024, retrieved 28 February 2024
  37. ^ "Stand Up Comedian | UK | Olga Koch". 7 January 2024. Archived from the original on 7 January 2024. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
  38. ^ "Olga Koch: Fight - Radio 4 Stand-Up". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  39. ^ 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)
  40. ^ "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.
  41. ^ "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.
  42. ^ 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)
  43. ^ Olga Koch On Bisexuality | Live at The Moth Club | Dave. Retrieved 15 May 2024 – via www.youtube.com.
  44. ^ Love Island Aftersun, archived from the original on 27 November 2022, retrieved 15 July 2023{{citation}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
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