Fringe 2025 – The Edinburgh Comedy Awards are back
BBC Radio 4 will broadcast a special showcase recorded at The Gilded Balloon which will give this year's nominees an even bigger platform. Last year's Best Comedy Show winner Amy Gledhill will be the host.
Amy Gledhill, Best Comedy Show 2024. © 2024 Martin McAdam
The programme will give listeners who can't make it to Edinburgh themselves a taste of the energy in Edinburgh during August and also hear some of the best bits from the nominees. The programme will be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Thursday 21st August at 11,00pm, and available to catch up on BBC Sounds.
04/08/2024
Nica Burns, CBE and Donald Taffner of DLT Entertainment at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards Lunch
Pic Greg Macvean
Nica Burns, CBE, Director of the Edinburgh Comedy Awards, said: 'In 2025, we are celebrating the 45th birthday of the Edinburgh Comedy Awards! We are only five years away from our half century!! Spotlighting the best up-and-coming talent at the Edinburgh Fringe is a huge privilege, which we take very seriously. The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is, and always will be, the world showcase for comedy talent and every year we look forward to discovering the next generation of comedy stars.
'This year, we said a fond goodbye to Shona McCarthy, Chief Executive of the Fringe Society who was such a wonderful champion of the Fringe. We are looking forward to working with her successor, Tony Lankester, who brings a wealth of experience and a steady pair of hands to this vital and challenging role.
'We would like to offer some big thank yous. Firstly, to our illustrious panel of judges and supporting scouts, who will collectively watch thousands of hours of comedy over the next month. We're equally grateful to our returning co-sponsors: DLT Entertainment, The Taffner Family Charitable Trust, the Victoria Wood Foundation, and of course, me!
'Comedy has been the largest genre at the Fringe for many years now and I predict it will still be the largest when the Edinburgh Comedy Awards celebrate their 100th year in 2080!
'Looking forward to a bumper festival for all!'
Donald Taffner, Jr., Chairman of DLT Entertainment UK Ltd, said: 'The Edinburgh Comedy Awards are the most prestigious honours in comedy, and supporting them is deeply personal for me. My parents founded DLT Entertainment 62 years ago, and I grew up in a household that believed in nurturing talent and celebrating laughter. The Fringe is the highlight of my year — and yes, I still try to beat my own record for shows seen.
'DLT Entertainment is proud to sponsor the Best Newcomer Award, championing the rising stars just starting to make their mark. And through the Taffner Family Trust's support of the Taffner Family Best Comedy Show, we honour a family tradition of backing brilliant performers who keep pushing comedy forward.'
The Judging Panel
The carefully curated 2025 judging panel is made up of seven industry experts and three knowledgeable and avid comedy fans from the general public who are selected through an open application process. The 2025 judging panel is made up of:
Sam Bryant: Director of Original Content and Comedy Commissioner, Audible (Chair)
Director of Original Content and Comedy Commissioner, Audible (Chair) Josh Buckingham: Executive Producer, Hat Trick Productions
Executive Producer, Hat Trick Productions Ashley Davies: Freelance Arts Journalist, Metro, Times Scotland, Scotsman
Freelance Arts Journalist, Metro, Times Scotland, Scotsman Shukri Dirie: Development Producer, Scripted, BBC TalentWorks
Development Producer, Scripted, BBC TalentWorks Tristram Fane Saunders: Freelance Journalist and Comedy Critic, The Telegraph and Editor of The Little Review
Freelance Journalist and Comedy Critic, The Telegraph and Editor of The Little Review Rachael Healy: Freelance Comedy and Theatre Writer, The Guardian and The Observer
Freelance Comedy and Theatre Writer, The Guardian and The Observer James Robinson: Executive Producer, BBC Studios Audio
Executive Producer, BBC Studios Audio Janet Jackson: Public panellist
Public panellist Krishna Kapur: Public panellist
Public panellist Justine Teasdale: Public panellist
Nica Burns Edinburgh Comedy Awards. Richard Osman and Ahir Shah. © 2024 Martin McAdam
Like this:
Like
Related
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Metro
30 minutes ago
- Metro
'I am orgasming on stage every night for this very good reason'
If art is digging into the human condition, then Betty Grumble has arrived at the core with a pickaxe. The eco-sexual sex clown (more on this later) will be taking her most risky show yet to this year's Edinburgh Fringe in Betty Grumble's Enemies of Grooviness Eat Sh!t. The show is a flowing blend of clownery, silliness, fleshiness, poetry and in its essence is deeply queer – born from drag, burlesque, strip-tease and underground LGBT scenes. Betty Grumble is both profane and profound – depending on who you ask. Her show is also deeply personal for Emma Maye Gibson, the Australian performance artist behind Grumble, she explains in a chat with Metro ahead of her Fringe run. Gibson's alter-ego Grumble – a 'war-mask' against patriarchy and love letter to living – will be masturbating and orgasming on stage every night. Emma Gibson explains: 'If you haven't encountered a sex clown before, you might imagine somebody who uses their body to remind us to love ourselves.' Audience members will be encouraged to look at a content brochure pre-show, which will warn of 'sex scenes' and 'joyfully wetter full-frontal nudity'. The orgasm is a release of all Gibson's personal grief: of losing her best friend, drag artist Candy Royal, in 2018, and the grief of injustice in her horrifying domestic violence ordeal. Gibson has aptly named the moment the 'Grief Cum'. 'I did it last night, and I hadn't actually had an orgasm in my personal life in about a little while, maybe a week and a half,' she says. 'The first time I ever did the show I was so nervous… I didn't fake it, I just didn't have a kind of clench-release orgasm that some of us have. It didn't happen for me. 'So the next night, I said to myself, 'You have to, let's experience this. Let's really go for it.' So I allowed myself to kind of really be seen in all of the contortion and twists that can happen as you're climbing in that way. 'And I did. Then I've had a 'real orgasm' – a big orgasm – every time I've done it.' Some nights, reaching orgasm takes Gibson longer if she's nervous or feeling uncomfortable. But she's always healing. 'I feel genuinely restored after the show. I feel good. It feels liberating,' she says. 'If it's feeling particularly difficult, I'll imagine myself being more and more non-human, and that's where ecosexuality will help me.' Emma Gibson explains: 'Ecosexuality is a sexual identity, where people reframe their relationship with the Earth from mother to lover. 'For example, breath work would be very eco-sexual. Swimming is very eco-sexual. It's not necessarily about like, literally f**king a tree. Though people can do that. It's called dendrophilia. 'It's about coming into erotic and sensual relationships with nature, with fire, with our perspiration. 'Our bodies don't begin and end. We're as the world. We are of nature. Yeah, that's what ecosexuality is to me. How do you express eco-sexuality? 'Whenever I feel myself hardening in particular ways to the world with anxiety and stress, the eco-sexual mindset can help me just expand and breathe out. 'I can zoom into the gradient of the blade of grass and think: 'How am I bringing pleasure and love to this absolutely extraordinary dimension we find ourselves in and all of the living force we're sharing?'' It's an undeniably vulnerable act. But Betty Grumble isn't just about radical rumination: she's also punk. 'Grumble has always helped me celebrate my body, but also criticise the ways in which it has been hurt by patriarchy,' Gibson says. 'In 2018, I experienced domestic violence in a relationship and I then court justice through the court system. It was the same year that my best friend died, and those two griefs kind of composted me,' she says. 'So what I do is share that compost on stage.' It goes without saying that the Grief Cum is also a march against shame – and the male gaze. 'I've been really interested in shame, and where shame lives in the body, and the power of pleasure as a tonic for that,' Gibson says. 'For women, especially – and I use that term really expansively – our bodies have been the site of so much violation, so the orgasm, the Grief Cum and sharing my body that way is a deliberate act of un-shaming. 'Even though I'm talking about my own story, what I'm actually talking about is another way of being with pain and grief and coming to love our bodies despite the wounds that we have.' While all this is a lovely idea, reality is rearing its cynical head. Yes, queer spaces are magic – but isn't Gibson worried about a more mainstream and possibly less respectful audience at the Edinburgh Fringe? Many of them may not be there for Betty Grumble, but for an eye-catching leaflet, or a night on the town. Some will likely scoff at and resist her art. 'We're connected as humans by being human, and it's the role of the artist to make visible the invisible, and the team and I have done a lot of work to translate and to hold the meaning of the show in a protective membrane,' Gibson says. 'So this was a really valid point. But I also think that the Fringe is a place to take risks, and there are people that might come into the show and be surprised, either happily or not, and that's okay, because we can make that together.' Rather than hushing the audience into submission, Gibson is actually inviting them to participate in her Grief Cum. Come again? (No pun intended.) 'They're involved in a percussive way,' Gibson says, carefully avoiding ruining the surprises of the show. 'They can contribute energetically to the soundscape. They are given a tool to assist the climax,' she says, cryptically. 'A sonic tool!' she adds quickly, before explaining, '…I just kind of want people to be surprised by it.' Of course, Gibson isn't a fool: she knows her art is unsettling stuff. But why shouldn't it be? 'It's a big invitation to sit in some discomfort. The ocean goes through different tides; waters are sometimes calm and then sometimes tumultuous, and that's good for us,' she says. 'When handled the right way, this kind of work can be helpful, and that's why I play with taboo and play with my body in particular ways.' Gibson's goal isn't to shock you, however much this may feel like a wacky, avant-garde Fringe stunt to get tongues wagging. 'I don't sit home and go, 'How will I shock them now?' I genuinely want to invite people into my body, even though I'm very aware of taboo protocol. More Trending 'While there are reasons things are taboo, people have agency to be in their bodies in a particular way. 'There are boundaries that definitely need to be tested, especially as we pendulate the way we are towards more conservatism.' She adds: 'I hope that this act of pleasure can be one that is of defiance, but also unity.' See Betty Grumble's Enemies of Grooviness Eat Sh!t from August 1 to 24 at 9.15pm at Assembly Roxy – Upstairs. Tickets here. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: 'I was in love with an incarcerated man – now he's my Edinburgh Fringe show' MORE: 'I was in Amazon Prime's biggest surprise hit – now you can watch me in a hotel room' MORE: Jewish comedians devastated as Edinburgh Fringe shows axed despite being non-political
Scotsman
2 hours ago
- Scotsman
Annika cast: who is in the cast of season 2? Full list
Annika is back and season two is finally arriving on the BBC 📺 Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Annika's second season is finally arriving on BBC. It comes two years after the first season was on terrestrial TV. But who is in the cast for the upcoming episodes? Annika is coming home to the BBC and the second season is finally set to be broadcast on terrestrial TV. Nicola Walker returns as the titular character for the latest episodes. The crime drama is based on the original radio series, Annika Stranded, which could be heard on BBC Radio 4. It swaps the action to Glasgow for the TV version. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad But who else is in the cast for Annika season two? Here's all you need to know: When is Annika on TV and start time? Nicola Walker stars in Annika, the crime drama set around The Clyde and Scotland's islands. Pic: BBC/UKTV/Graeme Hunter Just like the first season, the show originally aired on Alibi before coming to the BBC a couple of years later. The second series was broadcast on the channel in August 2023, but terrestrial TV viewers can finally see the newest episodes. Annika season two will start on BBC One today (August 2). It is set to start at 9.10pm and the episode will last for approximately 50 minutes. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad What to expect from Annika this weekend? The preview for the first episode of season two, via Radio Times, reads: 'When a phone containing a brutal drowning recorded is handed in to MHU headquarters, the pressure is on for Annika and the team to track down the murderer.' It is the first of six episodes, which is the same length as season one. Annika was filmed in and around Glasgow. Who is in the cast of Annika? Nicola Walker as DI Annika Strandhed Jamie Sives as DS Michael McAndrews Katie Leung as DC Blair Ferguson Ukweli Roach as DS Tyrone Clarke Varada Sethu as DS Harper Weston (series 2) Kate Dickie as DCI Diane Oban Silvie Furneaux as Morgan Paul McGann as Jake Strathearn The show also features plenty of guest stars because of its case-of-the-week style format. So keep your eyes peeled for any surprise appearances. Nicola Walker, who you may recognise from the first four seasons of Unforgotten, voiced the character in the original radio version. She has returned to play the character in the TV version as well. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad In the BBC Radio 4 version, the action was set in Oslo, but it has been moved to Glasgow. Who is new for series 2? Doctor Who star Varada Sethu is the new face in the main cast of Annika for season two. She plays DS Harper Weston and joins after DS Tyrone Clarke leaves the team. Varada Sethu was most recently on screen as Belinda Chandra in Doctor Who - the companion to Ncuti Gatwa's 15th Doctor. She had previously appeared in the episode Boom in 2024. She also played Detective Sergeant Mishal Ali in Hard Sun. Varada also had a role as Cinta Kaz in Disney+'s Andor.
Scotsman
2 hours ago
- Scotsman
Multinational acrobatic troupe Copenhagen Collective on their dazzling Fringe debut
With a 17-strong cast from 14 different countries, communication is key for the energised members of the self-described 'Chaos Collective'. By Susan Mansfield Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... 'How many acrobats can you fit around a table?' quips someone as five members of Copenhagen Collective fit themselves into a nook in a popular cafe in Galway. The answer comes back fast: 'Always one more!' The 17-strong company are performing their show The Genesis at the Galway International Arts Festival on a tour that has already taken them to nine countries in their first year. By the time you read this, they'll be in Edinburgh making their Fringe debut. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad To form a new acrobatics company from scratch on this scale, with a completely international cast, is almost unprecedented. The 17 performers come from 14 countries. Just over a year after their first performance, they hope the Fringe will be the right platform to take their work to another level. Copenhagen Collective | David Poznic Photography At the cafe table, the bond between them is already clear. 'From the get-go, I had a sense that something really special and fairly unique was happening,' says David Ullrich from Germany. 'I think it's something that shines in the project and makes each and every one of us fall in love with it.' In was in late 2023 that invitations started to circulate in the acrobatics world to attend a series of 'jams' (informal gatherings of performers) in Copenhagen. The performers didn't know it at the time, but the jams were auditions hosted by circus school tutor Søren Flor, who had received backing from millionaire software developer and philanthropist Joachim Ante to fund a dream project: a new acrobatics company which would be run by its members. Flor was selecting not only the best acrobats but those who would be most committed to realising the idea of the collective. Make sure you keep up to date with Arts and Culture news from across Scotland by signing up to our free newsletter here. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'Then pretty quickly madness ensued,' says Ullrich. No wonder the company refer to themselves as the Chaos Collective. 'The scale and the scope of this project beat everything I had experienced before. It's almost a social experiment that we're doing: how do you get 20 or 25 total strangers together and collaborate and make art?' Within a matter of weeks, the new company members had relocated from around the world – Canada, France, Germany, Argentina, Uruguay – to live and work together in a former aircraft hanger outside Copenhagen. They had just three intense months to make a show. It became a tribe, a family. 'Or you could say 'cult'!' says Marilou Verschelden, from Montreal, Canada, to widespread laughter. The first steps were to learn to work together, to work through the differences in the systems in which they had trained, learn to trust one another, and master the dexterity needed when 17 people are moving fast in a confined space. 'The communication was hard,' says Verschelden. 'It was fascinating because when we were working on the mat I could always communicate with people. But when we were eating together, someone would say one sentence, and I would be: 'What the hell did she say?'' Soon they were creating work and devising sequences. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the themes of cooperation and collaboration emerged powerfully. 'I think the theme of the show is getting past our differences,' says Ronan Jenkinson, from Northern Ireland. 'We've not saying we're perfect and we've figured it out by any means, but at the end of the day, what really matters? Is it our differences, or is that going to get in the way of us achieving new things and pushing what is possible in the world?' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad When director/choreographers Patrick King and Johan King Silverhult came in to help develop the show, they brought those themes to the fore. Ullrich says: 'I think they realised at some point that it would feel almost wrong to put a narrative that isn't ours on top of that. There are metaphors about individuals coming together, getting to know each other, celebrating collaboration and the strength that comes from it. This is a very authentic thing for us because this is our story.' Copenhagen Collective at the La Strada festival in Austria | Contributed Copenhagen Collective tours with a manager, a technician and often a childminder, to look after the two children of founding members Sónia Cristina and Alfred Hall Kriegbaum, Zoe, three, and one-year-old Marley. 'The children really make it a family,' says Jenkinson. 'Everyone has an eye on them. Yeah, it does get difficult when a child is running around and you're trying to mark a rehearsal for something that you're going to do in three days, but it's also something we're able to tolerate and understand.' Nicolás Gonzalez (Nico) from Chile says: 'It's amazing seeing them grow. When I joined the company, Zoe was just beginning to speak, now she calls 'Nico!' which I come in the room and wants me to play with her. I am really far away from my family and I really appreciate having this connection.' Meanwhile on the mat the company is learning about the benefits of working together long-term. Nico is what is known as a flyer, one of the lightest members of the company who is often at the top of a tower. 'When you can put your confidence and your body into these hands, I think you can go beyond your limits,' he says. 'You think your limit is here, but then you realise your limit is over there. In two years I have done a lot of things I never imagined before.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad David says: 'Now that the technique clicks and the bodies work well together, I'm able to look past my personal horizon. I have 16 colleagues who are very good at what they do, somebody will always know how to help me, and often there is something I can help somebody with. We are so many that we can keep pushing our technique and keep getting better. The skill level keeps rising.' Communication is still a challenge. 'This is the hardest part of the collective,' says Verschelden. 'But we have to remind ourselves that our best asset is our differences. The mix of cultures is really what Copenhagen Collective is. You could have a show with five people from the same country, but you've probably already seen that show.' The future is still being dreamed about around the cafe table: on the one hand the kind of technical development long-term collaboration makes possible, on the other, the potential for year-round work, a stable financial base. 'We've had the opportunity to start something at almost the top end of the scale,' says Jenkinson. 'We don't know what it looks like to develop that. It's up to us to work that out. That's why the show's called The Genesis. It's really just the beginning.'
