2017 LastMinute Edinburgh Comedy Awards Best Comedy Show & Best Newcomer Shortlists Announced

Nica Burns, Director of the Awards has announced the shortlists for the lastminute.com Best Comedy Show and the lastminute.com Best Newcomer Awards.

The nominees for the lastminute.com Best Comedy Show Award are:

Ahir Shah: Control

Elf Lyons: Swan

Hannah Gadsby - Nanette

John Robins: The Darkness of Robins

Jordan Brookes: Body of Work

Mae Martin: Dope

Mat Ewins Presents Adventureman 7: The Return of Adventureman

Sophie Willan: Branded

Spencer Jones: The Audition

Nica Burns, Director of the Awards says: "70 years of the Fringe, 700 eligible shows: a record breaking year for comedy. An excellent long, long-list resulted in a particularly passionate and lively debate by the ten strong judging panel. It is unprecedented to see an almost gender- equal list with four women on the shortlist of nine, one more nomination than in 2015 and 2016, and some exciting new names for the public to discover."

The nominees for the lastminute.com Best Newcomer Award are:

Chris Washington: Dream Big (Within Reason)

Darren Harriott: Defiant

Ed Night: Anthem for Doomed Youth

Kwame Asante: Open Arms

Lauren Pattison: Lady Muck

Lucy Pearman: Maid of Cabbage

Natalie Palamides: LAID

Rob Kemp: The Elvis Dead

Nica Burns, Director of the Awards says: "The shortlist for lastminute.com Best Newcomer is the most diverse ever, young and exciting."

The list of eight includes:

· 28 year old ex-bouncer Darren Harriott from Birmingham with a genial but brave take on today's issues

· warm-hearted 23 year old Geordie Lauren Pattison's highly polished debut sharing her funny and poignant look at relationships

· Lucy Pearman's surreal and endearing first full length debut as an unmarried maid on the hunt for the perfect cabbage

· blood-drenched, chainsaw-wielding Rob Kemp in his cult-in-the-making The Elvis Dead

· Ed Night, confident beyond his 21 years, tackling the big issues of his generation

· the warm and happy stories of Wigan postman turned comedian Chris Washington

· laid-back junior Doctor Kwame Asante's gentle observations about life, racism and identity.

· Natalie Palamides smashing eggs in a wonderfully enthralling dark comedy about a woman's relationship with her own fertility.

The winners of the 2017 lastminute.com Edinburgh Comedy Awards will be announced by Mark Gatiss, Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton of the League of Gentlemen and 2016 Best Comedy Show winner Richard Gadd on Saturday 26 August at a ceremony at the Dovecote Studios.

The prize money for best comedy show is £10,000 with £5,000 each for the Best Newcomer and the Panel Prize winner.

The 2017 winners and nominees can be seen on Sunday 27 August at the lastminute.com Edinburgh Comedy Awards Show at the EICC, The Exchange, Edinburgh at 15.30.

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