At a breakfast briefing for the 33rd Foster’s Edinburgh Comedy Awards Nica Burns, director of the Awards announced that Foster's will partner the Edinburgh Comedy Awards for another three years, to 2016.
Gayle Harrison, Brand Director – Foster’s at brand owners HEINEKEN said: “Comedy in all its forms lies at the heart of Foster’s brand strategy and our partnership with the Edinburgh Comedy Awards provides a solid and lasting foundation for our marketing ambitions. In Foster’s 125th anniversary year, we are delighted to extend Foster’s sponsorship of the world’s most prestigious comedy awards and we look forward to working with Nica and her team to take the Foster’s Edinburgh Comedy Awards to even greater renown over the next three years.”
Describing 2013 as ‘the most inclusive fringe yet,’ Nica Burns, Director of the Awards said: “This year there are a record breaking 581 eligible shows, split equally between Best Comedy and Best Newcomer. Every generation of comedy is represented at this year’s Festival from Alexei Sayle, one of the key original founders of the alternative comedy movement through to David Baddiel, Jason Manford, Sarah Millican and a raft of exciting new talent.
The growth of comedy for younger audiences sees established stand-ups tailoring their acts accordingly, sharing laughter across the generations and reinforcing fringe comedy as an event for all the family. With so much comedy on offer, it’s not surprising that the Edinburgh Fringe is often referred to as the Mothership of Comedy!
The Fringe is about inclusion, innovation and aspiration and it is in that spirit that Foster’s have renewed their sponsorship for a further three years.”
Foster’s sponsorship portfolio includes the Foster’s Edinburgh Comedy Awards, the British Comedy Awards, over 100 hours of Original Comedy programming on Channel 4 and the Gilded Balloon’s So You Think You’re Funny? stand-up competition at the Fringe Festival.
In recent years, Foster's has revived classic comedy through ground-breaking partnerships with writers and producers on The Fast Show, Vic and Bob’s Afternoon Delights and Mid Morning Matters with Alan Partridge.
Foster’s Comedy Awards 2013
There will be no changes in regard to the judging or the Awards categories. All shows eligible will be automatically seen, this includes Comedy Cabaret shows in the Cabaret section of the programme.
Last year over 500 different comedy shows were seen by the Awards team. The shortlist will be announced on Wednesday 21 August with the winners announced at a lunchtime ceremony on Saturday 24 August.
The judging panel consists of seven professionals and three comedy punters representing the public.
- Chair is Tania Harrison Head of Arts and Comedy, Festival Republic.
- Ben Boyer, Head of Comedy Development, SKY
- Alice Jones, Deputy Arts Editor, Independent
- Claire Jones, Producer, BBC Radio Comedy
- Dominic Maxwell, Comedy Editor, The Times
- Rachel Springett, Commissioning Editor, Channel 4
- Ben Williams, Comedy Editor, Time Out.
- Public competition winners are Charlotte Lowey, Dale Platt and Stuart Wilson.
The prize money for best comedy show is £10,000 with £5,000 each for the Best Newcomer and the Panel Prize winner.
Update on 2012 Comedy award winners and nominees (read report)
Main Award:
- Doctor Brown’s award-winning show Befrdfgth subsequently enjoyed two sell-out Soho Theatre runs before he was whisked over to New Zealand with his family show Dr Brown Brown Brown Brown Brown and His Singing Tiger. Meanwhile, his Clowning with Dr Browning workshops are proving a hit with actors and comedians who are looking for fresh approaches to performing. Brown returns to Fringe 2013 with a retrospective of his last three shows and an eight hour work-in-progress extravaganza.
- Tony Law has since scooped the Chortle Award for Best Show 2013 and for Best Club Comic 2013. Meanwhile, Maximum Nonsense, his nominated show, played three sold-out weeks at Soho Theatre and a sell-out thirty date UK tour. In addition to appearances on Have I Got News For You, Never Mind The Buzzcocks, 8 Out Of 10 Cats, The Alternative Comedy Experience, Tony has several TV and radio projects in early development in the UK and US. He returns in 2013 with new show Nonsense Overdrive.
- Pappy's have set out on their third national tour after selling out a three week run at Soho Theatre. The hit sketch group have also written and recorded their TV series for BBC3, the eagerly-awaited Badults, due to start airing in July 2013.
- Following Josie Long’s third consecutive Foster's Edinburgh Comedy Award nomination she made a film of her show, Romance and Adventure, and took the live version on to Australia and New Zealand and to more acclaim. As well as appearances on The Alternative Comedy Experience, Have I Got News For You and Dara O’Briain’s School of Hard Sums, Josie has made a number of short films and hosts the Radio 4 show about short documentaries, Short Cuts. Josie is also busy developing her charity, Arts Emergency, which aims to help make arts and humanities degrees more accessible and is writing a book about activism for Harper Collins. She also writes a regular column for The Guardian.
- After Edinburgh, James Acaster enjoyed more success on his subsequent national tour and at the New Zealand Comedy Festival where he was nominated for Best International Show. James is developing a number of projects with TV production companies and has recorded his own pilot for Radio 4, James Acaster’s Findings; meanwhile he is a regular on Josh Widdecombe's XFM radio show.
- Claudia O'Doherty has had a busy year with a returning part in Sam Simmons' sketch comedy series Problems on ABC1 in Australia, her own three-part Comedy Blap with Channel 4, and a two month's residency at The Invisible Dot in London hosting The Claudia O'Doherty Experience. On the writing side, Claudia is developing a sitcom adaptation of her 2010 Edinburgh Show Monster of the Deep 3D with indie company Warp, and has another project in development with Bwark. Claudia is back at Edinburgh this year with her new show Pioneer.
Newcomers Award
- Since last summer Daniel Simonsen has been nominated for a Chortle Award and a Loaded LAFTA, seen his appearance on Russell Howard’s Good News rack up nearly one million views on YouTube and secure a lead role in Vic and Bob’s new BBC sitcom House of Fools, to air in 2014. Daniel currently also has a Comedy Blap in development with Channel 4.
- Joe Lycett has continued his exciting rise with a Chortle Award nomination for best compere and appearances on Celebrity Juice (ITV2), 8 Out of 10 Cats, Sweat the Small Stuff (BBC3) and Never Mind the Buzzcocks (BBC2).
- Since 2012 Sam Fletcher has been busy filming DNN, a comedy series for CBBC written by David Quantick. He also has a TV project in development with NBC Universal.
- Ben Target has co-directed Julia Davis in the short film The Bird and co-wrote and directed FRANK, a short film featuring at international film festivals later this year. For BBC Online he co-created What A Cool Gadget Show - the web's worst technology revue and has been invited to join fishing vessel Aleutian Star for the 10th season of Discovery Channel's Deadliest Catch.
- Since his Foster's Edinburgh Comedy Award nomination David Trent was also nominated for Best Breakthrough Artist at the Chortle awards. David has given up teaching since last year and has played ever larger venues. He is back at the Fringe this year with David Trent: This Is All I Have