Edinburgh Fringe
ISH Edinburgh Comedy Awards 2024 winners
- Best Show: Elf Lyons
- Best Newcomer: Abby Wambaugh
- Panel Prize: Alex Petty, Best in Class, Dion Owen, Elaine Robertson, Funny Women Glitter Project
The Jones Bootmaker ISH Edinburgh Comedy Awards has announced its 2024 winners.
Best Show
Best Newcomer
Abby Wambaugh: The First 3 Minutes of 17 Shows
Panel Prize
Joint Winners: Alex Petty, Best in Class, Dion Owen (pictured), Elaine Robertson, Funny Women Glitter Project
Each award consists of a £5,000 cash prize and a year's supply of shoes from sponsors Jones Bootmaker. The Panel Prize fund is being split equally between the five winners.
The awards were founded by comedian Nathan Cassidy who used his speech at the ceremony to highlight the incredible support that some people give to others at the Fringe.
One of the Panel Prize winners is Elaine Robertson to highlight the expense of accommodation and the burden that has put on so many this year. Elaine stayed in a tent at a campsite near the airport for the month, for which she still had to pay £700. She was only able to stage her show due to the guidance, support and financially accessible artist offer of her venue, The Stand, requiring no money upfront and a guarantee to cover any losses should they arise.
In a similar vein, Alex Petty was rewarded for 20 years of running the Free Festival, which allows comics to perform at the Fringe for a negligible upfront cost, taking 100% of donations made. Cassidy highlighted the additional great work Petty has done this year, including introducing a neurodiversity hub at Bar 50 supported by threadUp CIC, which specialises in counselling for creatives. For the second year he also helped the Imibala Trust bringing Yes-Ya-Yebo to Edinburgh with support from Pear Tree's owners and manager.
Dion Owen was recognised for running the Cyclopath Free Fringe Bike Programme, which aims to provide artists attending the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with a bike completely free of charge for the duration of the festival.
Another winner is Best in Class, described by Nathan Cassidy as "the real embodiment of diversity at the Fringe". The project has enabled a number of working class comedians to perform at the festival.
The final winner of the prize is Funny Women Glitter Project, set up as a tribute to Jo Fletcher-Cross to offer support to women and non-binary artists bringing their first show to the Fringe, whether this is mentoring or help with expenses.
Nathan Cassidy issued a plea for all participants at the Edinburgh Fringe to do more individually to support each other, emphasising that the "driving force of the ISH Awards is supporting all artists of whatever background at whatever venue at whatever time slot and we can all feel the support of one another".
The Jones Bootmaker ISH Edinburgh Comedy Awards will return in 2025.