Launched in 1981, the Edinburgh Comedy Award is presented to the comedy show judged to have been the best at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and is recognised as the most prestigious comedy prize in the UK.
Previously known as the Perrier Award, the prize recognises acts that are not ‘star’ names (a slightly nebulous concept), meaning that those who can regularly fill a 500-seat venue or who have their own television show (on a ‘major’ channel) are not eligible
The winners reads like a ‘who’s who’ of British comedy, from a talent-packed Cambridge Footlights featuring Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Tony Slattery and Emma Thompson, to household names include Steve Coogan, Jenny Eclair, The League of Gentlemen, Dylan Moran, Hannah Gadsby, Al Murray, Tim Key, and Emmy-nominated Baby Reindeer star Richard Gadd.
In 1992 a Best Newcomer Award was added, joined in 2006 by a Panel Prize - for acts who have made a special contribution to the Fringe Festival.
The shortlist for this year’s prize will be announced this Wednesday (August 20), meaning speculation is growing about who will make the grade and have the chance to follow last year’s winners Amy Gledhill and Joe Kent-Walters
We’ve been busy seeing shows, chatting to audience members and comedians, and pouring over the reviews to come up with some ideas about the most likely candidates (which will, almost certainly, be proved spectacularly wrong).
Here are our 16 top tips to get a ‘A’ grade in what Irish comedian Andrew Maxwell famously called ‘exams for clowns’ - making the shortlists set to be announced on Wednesday, August 20.
13. Ian Smith: Foot Spa Half Empty
Ian Smith's new show is every bit as funny as his 2023 Edinburgh Comedy Award-nominated show 'Crushing'. If that got a nod then there's no reason 'Foot Spa Half Empty', which is about "stress, love and buying a magic spell off Amazon", shouldn't also make the shortlist. | Contributed
14. Urooj Ashfaq – How To Be A Baddie
Urooj Ashfaq won Best Newcomer two years ago, with her debut hour 'Oh No!'. This year's show is the result of one reviewer calling that show 'conservative'. Now she's on a mission to be edgy and has one of the most hilarious first halves of any show on the Fringe this year. A lull in the last 10 minutes will be the only thing that could see her miss out on a nomination for the Main Prize. | Contributed
15. Jordan Gray: Is That a C*ck in Your Pocket, or Are You Just Here to Kill Me?
Every year there's a show where it's debatable as to whether it's even eligible for the Edinburgh Comedy Awards, and this year it's Jordan Gray. Her hour of sharp musical comedy is inspired by the death threats she receieved after part of her 2022 shortlisted show was performed on Channel 4. Only the judges will know for sure if she is too much of a 'star' to be considered. If she not, it's hard to see her not being given a nom. | Contributed
16. Robyn Reynolds: What Doesn't Kill You
A bit of an outsider this, but Robyn Reynolds' show is very much of the kind that the awards judges traditionally love. A true life story involving some truly terrifying family dynamics and a misdiagnosed medical condition, it admirably finds the funny in the darkest of places. | Contributed