Here are the winners in full...
CASSIDY/BOWLES/JAMES CORDEN AWARD FOR BEST SHOW
JOINT WINNERS (£2000 each)
- Mark Forward Presents Safari Time – Gilded Balloon
- Phil Ellis: Soppy Stern - Monkey BarreL
- PATRICK MONAHAN AWARD FOR BEST NEWCOMER
- JOINT WINNERS (£2000 each)
- Amelia Hamilton: Forget Me Not - Pleasance
- Ayo Adenekan: Black Mediocrity – Monkey Barrel
TAKEOVER RADIO 106.9FM JOKE OF THE FRINGE (£500.01)
- Jo Caulfield 'Last time I got really drunk I woke up in this filthy bedroom, vomit all down me, some fat, naked bloke snoring next to me. I was like - oh right, at least I got home ok.'
LYONS AWARD FOR TECH (£1000 split 4 ways)
- Jake Wood
- Eddie Fenton-Jones
- Alice Greening
- Josie Shipp
RHOD GILBERT PANEL PRIZE (£3000 split 6 ways)
SHARED BETWEEN THE 5 NOMINEES plus there was a bonus winner, Danny Ward for his extraordinary show The Hioliday, where he talks about the loss of his friend and comedian Gareth Richards, awards founder Nathan Cassidy said that now they had such generous sponsorship this year that the ISH Awards could finally give Danny, Mark Simmons and Gareth's wife Laura a small donation for their amazing work on A Show for Gareth, Panel Prize winner in 2023, and keeping his brilliant legacy alive.
Benny Shakes - at Disabled Cants www.disabledcants.co.uk - Benny took this show over from Steve Day in 2023 to give more disabled people a platform to practice their craft. It has a showcase at Bar 50 here in Edinburgh and now they have helped over 200 disabled artists around England to follow their dreams. Benny says 'it's not about me it's about helping the next generation of comedians.'
Che Burnley - Che says 'The Alternative Black Comedy Showcase has been running for 7 years in Edinburgh trying to give a platform and voice to Black (from a variety of ethnicities and backgrounds) comics in Edinburgh. It has featured people like Paul Sinha, Desiree Burch, Langston Kerman and Sikisa. We also runs workshops to try to get black kids into areas where they are not usually represented, not just on stage but behind the scenes in A/V tech backgrounds, writing and specialised acts such as circus skills etc. as in other clubs there is a more cabaret element to the show. Off the back of that is a plan to deliver mental health comedy workshops with a similar aim but for the older black generations who may have been missed out. It's basically about, entertainment, opportunities and care for groups often left out of the discussion or with different needs.'
Five flyerers - we are going to choose five flyerers this year to nominate for the Panel Prize to represent the hundreds of amazing flyerers in Edinburgh working so hard at something that is crucial to support artists and spread the word about their shows. There are some really amazing people doing flyering in Edinburgh, one of which is Louis Mangay, who flyers for several shows, as do most flyerers up here, another is Josh Ferguson, flyering for Daniel Muggleton, Michael Shafar, Cal Halbert and Comedy For The Curious. Also David Cunningham, Kaitlyn Smith and Sarah Docwra were rewarded.
Lula.xyz - Award-winning artist Lula.xyz created Edinburgh Fringe with Spice, a new initiative to champion Global Majority and non-white performers at the Fringe. The project, launched at Edinburgh Fringe 2025, includes a dedicated brochure, an online hub, and free ticket giveaways to reach audiences who might otherwise miss these performances. With nearly 4,000 shows programmed this year, fewer than 10% centre upon artists of colour, according to the Fringe of Colour database. Lula.xyz’s brochure, available online now and in print, makes it easier for festival-goers to discover and support these shows. The full brochure and show listings are available at lula.xyz.
One4Review review team - Geoff and the team of reviewers at One4Review, alongside ISH founder Nathan Cassidy, initiated the exponential increase of the reviewing of Free Shows at the 2025 Fringe, something that in the past has been overlooked by many publications. One reviewer Steve Hutchison has, as of a few days ago, reviewed nearly 100 shows, and over a third were from the Free. And that's just one reviewer. The whole team work as volunteers and give fair and honest assessments of shows, uninfluenced by PR, venue etc, they are just looking to support artists by reviewing shows wherever and whenever they may be - a level playing field, as it should be!
Picture by Steve Best – Phil Ellis centre.
