Komedia New Comedy Award

The Komedia New Comedy Award returns to Komedia in early 2027, with the grand final taking place on Wednesday 10 February. It's a competition for emerging stand-ups: hundreds of aspiring comics submit clips to get into the semi-finals, and from there the field is whittled down to twelve finalists who go head-to-head in the final. The winner takes home a bespoke award, a bottle of celebratory fizz, and a spot at Comic Boom, the new-act club that runs at the venue.

If you want to see the whole thing unfold, there are semi-final heats to catch first. They run on Sunday 17 January — a matinee at 2:00 pm with doors at 1:30 pm, and an evening show at 6:30 pm with doors at 6:00 pm — and again on Sunday 24 January at 6:30 pm, doors at 6:00 pm. Those heats are held in the Komedia Studio, while the grand final moves to the larger Komedia Basement.

For the final itself, the line-up is twelve finalists, with Andrew Fox headlining and Barry Ferns compering the night. It's a long way from the first clips sent in, and the final brings together the acts that have made it through the heats to compete for the title.

There's a bit of history to the award, too. It was started in 2020 by Marina Kobler of Komedia, Jill Edwards of the Comic Boom comedy club, and arts journalist Victoria Nangle, in association with Comic Boom. It sits alongside Komedia's other regular nights: the flagship Komedia Comedy Club, the new-act night Comic Boom, and the queer and alternative showcase Down The Hatch. The venue itself is in the North Laine, at 44-47 Gardner Street, BN1 1UN. The grand final starts at 8:00 pm on Wednesday 10 February, with doors opening at 7:00 pm.