Maisie Adam wins So You Think You're Funny? 2017

Ten talented newcomers competed in the prestigious So You Think You’re Funny? final at Gilded Balloon, with the competition as fierce as ever. Two past SYTYF winners – Aisling Bea and David O’Doherty – were involved in proceedings as MC and guest judge respectively. The latter was prancing around in a Trackcedo (a formal yet comfortable tracksuit-tuxedo hybrid) and Bea whipped the crowd into a frenzy to announce the intrepid comics.

The winning comedian, Maisie Adam, seduced the judging panel with tales of her unique French teacher and ‘Fish Waft’, a game for the whole family to enjoy. There’s something incredibly watchable about Adam – whether it’s her effervescence onstage, finding jokes in the minutiae of life or fantastic physicality of her 7-minute act. Inevitably she’ll be compared to a young, female Peter Kay, except her jokes and performance are far more eccentric.

Sarah Mann, with her musings on asexuality, self-image and glamping came a close runner-up. Her cheery, low-key delivery let the audience bask in her sharp writing. Second runner-up Morgan Rees entertained with a densely-packed set of one-liners and inventive nicknames. He’s also fresh from the BBC New Comedy Award Finals, where he lost out to 2016's SYTYF? champ, Heidi Regan.

The other finalists all need commending too: clever Jamie D’Sousa, exceptionally deadpan ‘Duchess of Fog’ Kirsten Brown, astute Robin Allender, inventive Archie Henderson, low energy Eric Rushton, quirky Amira Saied and polished Esther Manito. 

Alongside a £2,500 cash prize, Adam also wins opportunities to perform at Montreal’s Just for Laughs Festival, Bergen’s Humor Fest and a future run at Gilded Balloon.

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The So You Think You're Funny? 2017 final took place at Gilded Balloon on 24 Aug