Komedia is pleased to announce that the Komedia New Comedy Award, in association with award-winning Comic Boom comedy club and arts journalist Victoria Nangle, is open for entries for 2026 championing rising original comedic voices for its fifth year. Online entry launches on 6th October 2025 and will remain open until Friday 31st October, with the semi-finals and Final taking place in January and February 2026.
Previous winners and finalists include Jack Skipper, Michael Akadiri, Sam Williams, Shalaka Kurup, Andrew Fox, Daman Bamrah, Christian Jegard, Elaine Fellows, Wes Defoe and 2025 winner Sydney May (pictured) – continuing to rise on the national comedy circuit, winning further plaudits and acclaim.
MCs and judges set to take part during the run of the competition include award winning television comedians and leading respected figures from the comedy industry. Including worldwide promoter and comedy agent Mick Perrin, Beyond The Joke’s Bruce Dessau, award winning comedy writer Tasha Dhanraj, Chortle’s Steve Bennett and BBC Comedy’s Lulu Baker.
Jill Edwards of Comic Boom comedy club said, “I can’t wait for the journey of discovery that we always find ourselves on with the Komedia New Comedy Awards. There is nothing quite like the thrill of discovering fresh new comedy voices and exciting future stand-up stars.”
“Last year’s competition levels were brilliant,” says Victoria Nangle. “I can’t wait to see who will be coming through to brighten everyone’s New Year in 2026.”
Marina Kobler (Komedia), Jill Edwards (Comic Boom) and Victoria Nangle (arts journalist) came together in 2020 to create this award and have been delighted to see it grow and attract new talent each year. The aim of the Komedia New Comedy Award continues to be to discover and support exciting new comics, and to offer opportunities for development.
Applications open on the 6th October 2025 for the month, with semi-finals in January and February 2025. The Komedia New Comedy Award 2026 winner will get a bespoke award, a spot at Chortle award-winning (2024 & 2025) Comic Boom comedy club at Komedia, and a bottle of fizz.
The award is open to comedians who have been gigging regularly for less than three years but have not won any major comedy competition. They need a seven minute set of their own original stand-up material, and a clip of that set to send in with their application.
27 semi-finalists will be selected from clips and will be invited to perform across three semi-final heats. Further details for eligibility and how to enter will be available on the Komedia website.
The semi-finals will take place on three consecutive Tuesdays beginning 20th January 2026. Comics from each one will be selected by the judges to go through to the Final, which will be MC’d by Barry Ferns.
"The Komedia New Comedy Award is such an important part of our programme, and a great way to kick each new year off with the best and boldest upcoming talent,” says Komedia General Manager Jamie Patterson. “We can't wait to see who the funniest people of 2026 will be, and it's such a joy to discover them right here at Komedia!"
For more information and to enter (entry form live 6th October) please visit https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe3TcpR-1JAkmCXo1QoS-HDaZ5S0LnU...
