Musical Comedy Awards 2023 finalists

The finalists for the 2023 WeGotTickets Musical Comedy Awards are now all confirmed, and it looks set to be quite a show.

With the live final due to take place on Friday 31st March in London, this will be the 15th year of the competition which is supported by stars like Bill Bailey and has previously helped launch the careers of the acts including Abandoman, Mae Martin, Jay Foreman and Frisky & Mannish.

The show - which you can attend in person, or watch on a live stream - will be at the Bloomsbury Theatre, with the competition's resident MC, Nick Horseman, as host. There'll also be a set from 2023 Best Newcomer JoJo Maberly and, excitingly, former finalist Rachel Parris is set to perform a headline set at this year's show too.

Here's the rundown of the biographies of the acts who made it through the heats and will be performing live on the 31st...

Peter Bazely

Festival favourite and Roast Battle champion Bazely boasts two sold-out Edfringe runs and a 'best joke of the Fringe' award. Imagine if Stewart Lee and Bill Bailey had a kid, no just imagine that for a second... how would that even work. Morose, laconic Bazely airs towards audience interaction, killer one-liners and songs.

Will BF

Will BF is wanted dead or alive for tickling ribs, splitting slides and slapping knees up and down the country. Witnesses to his crimes have been unable to comment, but will hopefully shed light onto this troubling situation once they stop chuckling. His next target: the Musical Comedy Awards Final; and the crime: bringing the house down.

The Gorgeous Diva (Jay Bennett)

After last year's comeback concert extravaganza came to a screeching halt, The Gorgeous Diva is back (again). Hailing from Dorking, Surrey (The Nashville of England), and best known for her 1987 hit, Love Hurts When Eagles Fly, which is still creeping its way to number 1, The Gorgeous Diva can finally have her long awaited shot at fame and glory at the Musical Comedy Award finals! She will be joined onstage with her Nephew Barney, a piano player extraordinaire, and expert Dove handler.

Amelia Hamilton

Amelia Hamilton is an up-and-coming stand-up comedian based in London. Growing up, she dreamed of becoming a grime rapper, but the path to rap stardom hasn't quite worked out as planned... yet.

Christian Jegard

Christian Jegard is comedian and mid-budget hotel lounge entertainer from Brighton who began performing in 2019. His lockdown song Stay Inside was nominated for 'Best Music Video' at the Austin Comedy Film Festival and was also a finalist in 'Sketched Out' at The Comedy Store in Los Angeles. Runner Up Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year 2021, Finalist in Komedia New Act of the Year 2020, and Union Jack Radio 'One to Watch in 2022'.

Eddy MacKenzie

Eddy MacKenzie and his tiny guitar, have come to play songs so bold and bizarre! A short round man with a big loud voice who wants to make you boogie!

Annabel Marlow

Annabel Marlow is a comedian, musician and actor based in London. She trained as an actor at LAMDA in 2018, went on to achieve a BA at Leeds Uni (big up Leeds), and recently graduated from the MA Contemporary Acting at The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama which was suuuper chill (kidding xx) ((more jokes like that to come!)).

Nikola McMurtrie

Nikola McMurtrie is a Scottish comedian from a swamp. She performs self-deprecating comedy songs with many onion-like layers of silliness. She won the Funny Women Awards 2020, BCG Pro Video Contest 2021, Fulwell 73 competition 2021 and Lit Laughs film festival 2022 for her comedy sketches, but swears she's not compensating for anything. Nikola, despite fighting a dragon and rescuing a princess from a tower, has been a finalist at the Rising Star Competition 2022 and the Musical Comedy Awards 2022.

Selena Mersey

Selena Mersey is a musical comedy powerhouse, bisexual burlesque babe, and a force of nature theatremaker. A rising star on the UK's cabaret scene, Brighton-based Selena's delightfully dark ditties around gender, sexuality, and the horrifying ordeal of Being Known will get you going 'haha! Wonderful! Oh actually that's a bit fucking grim.'

Su Mi

Su Mi is a British Queer Malaysian Alternative Comedian / Musician born and bred in East London. High energy and story telling. Sold-out shows for her one woman show Banana Beard. Winner of the Luke Rollason Memorial Bursary, BBC New comedy Awards finalist, winner of Queerovision 2022, winner of Beat The Frog 2022. Co-founder and resident MC of Misfit Comedy night.

Katie Norris

Katie is a stand-up comedian, singer and actress, best known for her work as one-half of the critically-acclaimed double act Norris & Parker and a regular voice on The Now Show and Newsjack.

Tasmin Sarkany

Tasmin Sarkany tells jokes as a character whose double act partner is her violin. This may sound confusing to you, so imagine what it's like for them. Despite the language difference (music and English) and some small quibbles, they have a lot of fun telling jokes together. Their act is a highly original mix of character comedy and a ventriloquism-meets-music blend of tunes, puns and straightforward silliness.

Best Newcomer: JoJo Maberly

JoJo Maberly began writing music as a sincere and angsty teenager. These songs garnered so much laughter, that she took on the label of 'musical comedian'. Now, at the ripe old age of 23, with her youth well and truly behind her and her status as a crone upon us, she is excited to be able to perform her swan-song for the audience of the MCA final 2023 as the Best Newcomer.

Promoters Ed Chappel and Tamara Cowan say: "We are thrilled each year about discovering new musical comedy acts that enter the MCA and the class of 2023 is no exception - such an amazing array of original, diverse and talented people! We are also proud of the fact that 2023 is the first year where female finalists outnumber male finalists by 8 to 4! It's going to be an incredible final!"