Midlands Comedy Awards 2016 nominees

The nominees for the 2016 Midlands Comedy Awards have been announced.

Masai Graham (pictured) leads the list, with four nominations. The one-liner stand-up, who earlier this year won Dave's Joke Of The Fringe and is the reigning UK Pun Champion, has been nominated in the Best Act, Breakthrough Act, Live Show and Online Comedy categories. These are the same categories he was nominated in last year, however he only walked away with the Online Comedy prize for 2015.

In the Best Act category, Graham is joined by Nottingham comedians Scott Bennett and Patrick Draper, who are perennial favourites in this category, as well as Dan Nightingale and Duncan Oakley, who are making their first appearance.

Overall, acts and clubs from the Birmingham and Black Country region secured half of the seventy places on this year's shortlists. The next best showing being for Leicester performers and clubs, with 16 nominations. Those in the Nottinghamshire area picked up a dozen nods.

Finalists for the Midlands Comedy Awards are decided by Midlands-based comedy clubs and media professionals, and this year more than thirty people were involved in putting together the shortlists. The winners will be decided by an online public vote, which runs until 20th November 2016.

This year's winners will be announced at an awards ceremony that takes place at the Canal House in Nottingham on Sunday 27th November 2016. This year will be the first time the awards ceremony is being held in the East Midlands.

Best Act 2016

Scott Bennett
Patrick Draper
Masai Graham
Dan Nightingale
Duncan Oakley

Best MC 2016

Karen Bayley
Wayne Beese
Gareth Berliner
Nick Clarke
Barry Dodds
Alex Hylton
Jason Neale
Jon Pearson
Andy Robinson

Breakthrough Act 2016

Tom Christian
Masai Graham
Jay Handley
Alex Hylton
Graham Milton
Josh Pugh
Stu Woodings

Best New Act 2016

Harvey Hawkins
Sarah Johnson
Moses Ali Khan
Eric Rushton
Liam Webber

Best Alternative Act 2016

Ian Hall
Andrew McBurney
Dan Nicholas
Paul Palmer (aka Count Evil)
Johnny Sorrow
Roger Swift

Best Live Show 2016

Masai Graham - 101 Clean/Naughty Jokes
Kirwan/McBurney/Hyde - Boabby Roaster
Paul Savage/Alexander Bennett - Hell To Play
Alex Hylton - I Came, I Saw, I Complained
Roger Swift - Punderstudy
Jay Handley - You Can't Handley The Truth

Online Comedy 2016

Craig Deeley
Masai Graham
Instant Nostalgia
Jack Kirwan
Mike O'Callaghan
The Parapod
TOAD Radio

Best Comedy Club 2016

Fitz of Laughter (Stourbridge)
Funhouse Comedy (Midlands)
Glee Club (Birmingham / Nottingham)
Mortified (Tamworth)
Laff Attack (West Midlands)
Voodoo Stands Up (Stamford)

Best Small Comedy Club 2016

Blue Giraffe (West Midlands)
The Cookie (Leicester)
Club Smashing (Leicester)
The Criterion (Leicester)
FAF Comedy (East Midlands)
Fat Penguin (Birmingham)
Fitz of Laughter (Stourbridge)
Manilla Road (Birmingham)
Mortified (Tamworth)
NCF Comedy (Midlands)
Proper Funny (Leicester)
Teknicolour Smoof (Shropshire)

Best Open Mic Show 2016

Anarchy (Black Country)
Canal House (NCF) (Nottingham)
Comedy & Cocktails (Leicester)
The Holly Bush (Black Country)
Proper Funny (Leicester)
Road House (Birmingham)

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