Irishman Aidan Strangeman beat off stiff competition from eight of Britain and Ireland’s up and coming comic talents to be crowned the winner of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival’s stand-up comedy competition So You Think You’re Funny? 2014, sponsored by Foster’s.
Strangeman was followed in second place by Elliot Steel (Croydon). Third place was awarded to Joe Hart (Southampton). Each act had eight minutes to prove how funny they were. With a judging panel of some of the country’s most experienced judges including Gilded Balloon’s Artistic Director Karen Koren and Jason Manford, it was a tough decision but a stand out winner emerged.
This year’s winner has not only won the coveted title but has also won a cash prize and a trip to perform at Montreal’s Just For Laughs Festival. Past winners have included Lee Mack, Peter Kay, David O’Doherty, Rhona Cameron, Tommy Tiernan, Miles Jupp, Rob Rouse, Dylan Moran, Aisling Bea and 2013 co-winners Demi Lardner and Edd Hedges.
This year the search for the best comedy newcomer took competition organisers from the Gilded Balloon to Birmingham, Brighton, Bristol, Dublin, Glasgow, Inverness, Liverpool, London, Manchester and York. Over 400 acts entered, with 60 competing in heats in Edinburgh.
Finalists’ ‘rantings’:
1) Aidan Strangeman
Stand back everyone, Aidan Strangeman has a bomb: A musical comedy bomb! You’ll be hilariously maimed by his destructively catchy songs before you finally succumb to horrific, rib-shattering happiness. You’re welcome. Front row not recommended.
2) Elliot Steel
Elliot steel is really young. How young you ask? Like super young. So young in fact that while you're reading this he's currently being babysat as he isn't legally allowed in the building even though he's from Croydon and has drunk alcohol before.
3) Joe Hart
Two parts nerd, one part gay and one part comedy is the recipe just in case you’d like to make your own version of Joe at home. He started doing comedy in Southampton and now he's running to the other end of the isles to Edinburgh for some fun!
The SYTYF judges were Karen Koren, Artistic Director of the Gilded Balloon; Angela Squire, A&R Director for Universal; Susan Provan, Director of Melbourne International Comedy Festival; Zoe Rabnett, Talent Producer for Just For Laughs; Helen Hawkins from the Sunday Times;Bruce Dessau, comedy critic for London Evening Standard and editor of Beyond The Joke and Jason Manford.
A review of the competition will run on beyondthejoke.co.uk tomorrow.
