The winners have been announced for The Comedians' Choice Awards 2018, the Edinburgh Fringe awards voted on by comedy performers.
This year there was a tie in the votes for Best Show, and so there are two winners in that category.
Best Show (joint winners)
Paul Currie: Hot Donkey
Lou Sanders: Shame Pig
Best Performer
Laura Lexx
Best Person
Alex Petty
Paul Currie: Hot Donkey is at Heroes @ The Hive at 8:40pm
Lou Sanders: Shame Pig is at Monkey Barrell at 12:30pm.
Laura Lexx: Trying is at Gilded Balloon at 5:15pm.
Alex Petty is the promoter behind Laughing Horse Comedy, which runs the 25 Free Festival venues in Edinburgh in August (including Cabaret Voltaire, The Counting House, Espionage and The Three Sisters).
Winners quotes
Paul Currie: "This is very unexpected. I couldn't have done it without [technician] Kit Sullivan. Techs are very underrated."
Lou Sanders: "Uh oh. I'm worried this is going to be an absolute dick magnet.
Laura Lexx: "The fact that the people who also do what I do like what I do means the world to me."
Alex Petty: "Thank you to the Laughing Horse crew and the venues that help make the Free Festival happen – it's a team effort."
The Comedians' Choice Awards - formerly known as The Barry Awards (UK) – were founded in 2014 to help highlight the amazing work of those at the Fringe who may well otherwise go unrecognised, as judged by those who understand their efforts the best: their peers.
Every comedy show at the Edinburgh Fringe is eligible to cast a vote, and be voted for.
There is no panel of judges, no industry specialists – only the performers themselves decide whom amongst them is worthy of special recognition at the festival. Voting is conducted during August via an online form administered by British Comedy Guide, with the website also verifying the voting data.
Previous winners can be seen here:
