Laughing Horse New Act of the Year Competition

Credit crunch be damned. The Laughing Horse New Act of the Year Competition has more entrants than ever, with four heats taking place in Edinburgh this weekend.

Article by Lizzie Cass-Maran | 26 Feb 2009

Common sense would seem to dictate that in times of financial crisis, luxuries are first to go. Sales of clothes, music and expensive holidays are falling fast, and yet the arts world seems to be gloriously unaffected. Stand up comedy promoters will tell you that the industry has, if anything, experienced a boom over the past few months.

Together with this increase in ticket sales has come a plethora of stage-hungry new comics eager to hone their craft. Laughing Horse, a comedy promotion company based in London, is taking full advantage of this fact, as their latest new act competition features the biggest number of entrants yet. Scottish heats take place this weekend on the 27th and 28th at 7:30 and 10pm. With experienced comperes JoJo Sutherland and Keara Murphy guiding you through a series of five minute sets, that’s over 50 new comedians.

Cutting your teeth can take a long time in comedy and Laughing Horse defines ‘new’ as anyone who has been gigging for under 3 years – undergraduates, if you will, still haemorrhaging spare cash on every gigging opportunity going, without the luxury even of student loans. Acts that make it through the heats, quarter finals and go on to the final in London, stand to win £1,000 in prize money and a series of paid gigs.

Competitions don’t work for every comic, and they’re not a hard and fast way of identifying tomorrow’s solid booking. But with the sheer number of hopefuls participating, experience ranging from first timers to the somewhat more seasoned, you’re guaranteed a fair share of genuine hilarity alongside pangs of sympathy for the perennial dying act (don’t be too hard on them, I’ve been there!).

As a judge at all four shows over the weekend, I’m looking forward to the opportunity to check out the latest talent. Keep at eye on the Skinny site after the weekend for a round up of who to watch out for.

 

 

27 and 28 Feb 2009, 7:30pm and 10pm

http://www.laughinghorsecomedy.co.uk/newactcomp/index.htm