Website Fringepig has announced the shortlist for its inaugural Ham Fist award. The idea is that the award goes to the Edinburgh reviewer who most misunderstood what they were looking at. 

The finalists are:

Graeme Connelly for his review of Stewart Goldsmith in The List.

Paul Fleckney for his review of Bobby Mair on Chortle.

Mark Divine Calvert for his review of Lieven Scheire on Mumble comedy

Laura Geoff for her review of The Beaux Zeaux  on One4review

Philip Fisher for his review of Joseph Morpurgo on British Theatre Guide

However FringePig felt compelled to comment that the standard of criticism was much higher this year. “Once reliably bad publications such as Three Weeks and Broadway Baby showed a dispiriting degree of professionalism this year.” The award was inspired by a 2014 review of Marcel Lucont that failed to grasp that this was a comedy character and not a real Frenchman. 

The reviews nominated are all well-written. FringePig has chosen them for other reasons. Paul Fleckney, for instance, attempted to review Bobby Mair’s show which was broadcast on live on Periscope, while not in the venue. Things worked out OK in the end, but he was initially hampered by a dodgy broadband connection. 

The prize is £200 for the show reviewed and £50 for the reviewer “to spend on books about comedy, or towards retraining as something better than a reviewer, like a gym assistant or an estate agent.”

To vote, tweet @fringepig or email [email protected]

The winner will be announced on August 29.