The 2024 Edinburgh Comedy Award winners are:
- The Don and Eleanor Taffner Best Comedy Show
- Amy Gledhill: Make Me Look Fit on the Poster
- The DLT Entertainment Best Newcomer Award
- Joe Kent-Walters is Frankie Monroe: LIVE!!!
- The Victoria Wood Award
- Rob Copland: Gimme (One With Everything)
Today, the winners of this year’s ‘Oscars of Comedy’ were announced at the 42nd Edinburgh Comedy Awards, presented by author and presenter Richard Osman and 2023 Best Comedy Show winner Ahir Shah.
Nana Hughes, Chair of this year’s judging panel, and the other judges whittled down all 563 eligible comedy shows at this year’s Fringe to Wednesday’s shortlist of nominations, identifying seven nominees for The Don and Eleanor Taffer Best Comedy Show and five nominees for The DLT Entertainment Best Newcomer Award. The judges also announced today this year’s panel prize,The Victoria Wood Award, given to the performer whose show best represents the “spirit of the Fringe.”.
Nica Burns CBE, Director of the Edinburgh Comedy Awards, said: “Our two winners this year share one thing: funny bones. They have a gift for comedy and have honed how best to use it. The result: gales of laughter and very happy audiences. Their comedy speaks to everyone – they are both clearly on their way to major stardom. I predict in a few years’ time they will be household names.
“Amy Gledhill’s show is joyful, delightful and full of laughter. The panel loved the fact that she blends writing that echoes the genius of Victoria Wood combined with the magical physicality of Julie Walters. It is a show packed with jokes and so much heart that everyone in the audience falls utterly in love with her and has a wonderful time.
“Joe Kent-Walters has created the extraordinary character of Frankie Monroe, which is both a love letter and satirisation of a working man’s club MC. His accomplishment is such that it is hard to believe this is Joe’s first Fringe hour. Joe draws on a range of skills including pantomime, musical comedy and stand up to bring you into Frankie’s world. Like many of the greats, everyone who has seen him this year will boast in future years that they saw Joe Kent-Walters’ show the year that he won Best Newcomer.
“Our 2024 winners are great comics who fill the room with jokes and laughter and appeal to all. As shown by our brilliant shortlist the standard of comedy at the 2024 Edinburgh Festival Fringe has been extraordinary.”
Nana Hughes said: “The Edinburgh Festival Fringe offers artists a space to be bold, original and spontaneous. A show can breakthrough and find an audience here. Recommendations from strangers in queues for other shows can lead to exciting new discoveries; the phrase ‘have you seen’ being uttered in late night bars, audiences lining pavements outside venues vying for tickets. This is the true spirit of the fringe. Our Victoria Wood Award Winner, Rob Copland, seized this spirit with both hands, in a performance which barely pauses for breath and yet ends with 10 minutes of silence. In only his second full year at the festival he has established himself as a cult favourite and created a legion of fans for his eccentricity and bravery.”
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
