Marjolein Robertson Explained

Marjolein Robertson (born 1990)[1] is a Scottish stand-up comedian and actress from Shetland. She was Scots Speaker of the Year. She has appeared at the Edinburgh Fringe and her 2023 show "Marj" was nominated for an award.

Early and personal life

Robertson's father is Scottish and her mother is Dutch.[2] She was born and brought up[3] in a Christian background on Shetland. Robertson attended university in Edinburgh. She has a diagnosis of ADHD.[4]

Since she was 16, Robertson has suffered from adenomyosis, causing abnormally heavy and debilitating menstrual periods. She has incorporated her experience and frustration with getting proper care for her condition into her comedy routines.

In 2019 Robertson moved to Glasgow, but returned to Shetland when she could no longer perform during the Covid-19 pandemic. Whilst the country was in lockdown she performed comedy online and worked in care.[5]

Career

Robertson lived briefly in Amsterdam performing improvisational comedy where she was encouraged to try stand-up comedy.[6] She made her Edinburgh Fringe Festival debut after only a handful of gigs and would write and practise her act in Shetland on her own to an empty room.[7] In 2022, Robertson received funding to write an almanac in the Shetland dialect.[8] At the 2022 Edinburgh Fringe Festival Robertson performed a one-woman show at The Stand comedy club entitled Thank God Fish Don’t Have Hands.[9] [10] In September 2022, she won in the Scots Speaker of the Year category at the Scots Leid Awards.[11] The following month she reached the final of the BBC New Comedy Awards after winning the regional Scottish heat.[12] In 2022 she was awarded second place in the final of the Funny Women awards.[13]

At the 2023 Edinburgh Festival, Robertson performed an eponymous one-woman stand-up show Marj. The show was nominated for best show at the (ISH) Edinburgh Comedy Awards 2023 alongside acts such as Ed Byrne, Luke Kempner and Paul Foot.[14] At the 2023 Fringe she also appeared in the historical play Me, Myself and Mary (Queen of Scots).[15]

Notes and References

  1. News: Moore . Anna . The period that almost killed me: ‘My mam was told, if you take her home, she won’t last the night’ . 6 June 2024 . . 6 June 2024.
  2. Web site: Scots Language Awards 2022: Marjolein Robertson. Handsupfortrad.scot. 1 November 2023.
  3. Web site: Scottish Storytelling Centre . 2024-03-30 . en-GB.
  4. Web site: Marjolein Robertson: Thank God Fish Don't Have Hands. Chortle. 1 November 2023. Steve. Bennett. 20 August 2022.
  5. Web site: The Scotsman Sessions #20: Marjolein Robertson. The Scotsman. 1 November 2023. Jay. Richardson. 17 August 2020.
  6. Web site: ‘I’m oblivious to red flags’: Marjolein Robertson on dating, Daniel Sloss and David Cameron ahead of Dundee gig. The Courier. 1 November 2023. Rebecca. Baird. 27 October 2023.
  7. Web site: How I spaffed away my Edinburgh Fringe debut. Chortle. 1 November 2023. 5 August 2023.
  8. Web site: George Orwell's Animal Farm to be translated into Scots. 20 June 2022. 1 November 2023. BBC News.
  9. Web site: Edinburgh Fringe comedian hits back after man makes 'creepy comment' to her. Edinburgh Live. 1 November 2023. Sian. Traynor. 11 August 2022.
  10. Web site: Comic shares her disgust at sexist heckle. Chortle. 1 November 2023. 11 August 2022.
  11. Web site: Robertson picks up Scots award. 25 September 2022. 1 November 2023. Shetland Times.
  12. Web site: Marjolein makes it through to final of BBC New Comedy Awards. Shetnews.co.uk. 1 November 2023. 22 October 2022. Chris. Cope.
  13. Web site: MEET 2022 STAGE AWARD RUNNER UP MARJOLEIN ROBERTSON!!. Funnywomen.com. 1 November 2023. November 25, 2022.
  14. Web site: (ISH) Edinburgh Comedy Awards 2023 shortlist. 21 August 2023. 1 November 2023. Comedy.co.uk.
  15. Web site: Marjolein Robertson. 1 November 2023. Comedy.co.uk.