Comedy duo The Awkward Silence have won a national comedy competition, bagging £1000 prize money for their video sketch.

Ralph Jones, aged 30 from Oxford, wrote and produced a short film with his comedy partner, Vyvyan Almond, 28 from London. The winning entry tells the peculiar history of a common household utensil, the spoon.

The competition, run by Horse Feathers Comedy, asked entrants to record and submit funny video clips to its website, where members of the public then voted for their favourites. The top ten most popular entries were then reviewed by a panel to decide on the funniest.

The pair began working together when they met in Oxford in 2010, meeting through the Oxford Revue comedy sketch group. Since then, ‘The Awkward Silence’ have amused audiences with their fast-paced surreal comedy stylings at numerous comedy venues across London, welcoming special guests including Sara Pascoe, Paul Foot and Simon Munnery. They have also written and performed a range of stage shows (script edited by comedy legend David Quantick) including The Voyage of The Narwhal, Racketeers, The Bastard King, and Bufo Bufo, to much critical acclaim.

Ralph said: “We are so thrilled to have won, I still can’t believe it. It’s great to get recognition for something that we have put our hearts and souls into for many years. There have been ups and downs but we feel like we are really finding our feet now!

“Although the current coronavirus pandemic has put the brakes on doing live events, we won’t let that stop us from squirreling away and developing new material. We will be using the prize money to put on our next show at Edinburgh Festival, a new comedy musical, The Awkward Silence’s Big Break. We are also planning to launch a podcast, so watch this space!”

A spokesperson from Horse Feathers said: “We couldn’t help but be impressed by The Awkward Silence’s entry. Unashamedly original, clever, downright odd and very funny, this comedy duo nailed it with their slick sketch production.”

Launched in January this year, Horse Feathers is an online platform that looks for fresh comedy talent, finding the people who are making their mates laugh in the living rooms, pubs and clubs across the nation and showcasing their skills.

Although the competition is over, Horse Feathers wants to see more videos from the public. Whether it’s fledgling stand-ups and improv acts, animation, comedy songs or in fact anything funny – if the Horse Feathers team like your video they may even buy it and use it.

But please, no more virus or isolation jokes...

To submit a video visit www.horsefeatherscomedy.com.

Watch The Awkward Silence'sWinning Sketch Below