BCG Pro Talent Awards for Performance 2023 finalists
- Shortlist: Omar Ibrahim, Kit Loyd, Low Effort Sketches, Jane Postlethwaite, Maxine Wade
- Ollie Fox is the winner in the Starter category
- The live final will take place at London's Museum Of Comedy on Thursday 14th December. Tickets
Kit Loyd wins BCG Pro Performance Awards 2023
The shortlist for the BCG Pro Talent Awards for Performance 2023 has been announced.
Selected by British Comedy Guide's judges, the five acts will now each perform a set during a live final at London's Museum Of Comedy on Thursday 14th December hosted by Shaparak Khorsandi. Tickets are available now
The finalists are as follows, alongside their biographies:
Omar Ibrahim
Omar is a working class, mixed race, neurodivergent actor and comedian who dislikes labels. He performs cultural stand-up in the spirit of clown. Omar's solo show, Decolonise This, was nominated for two Neurodiverse Review awards at Edinburgh Fringe 2023 (Bounce Emerging Artist & ADHD Comedy Award).
Kit Loyd
Kit uses audio visuals to perform one person sketch. His split bill Nightwatchman received ★★★★ in The Scotsman and was included on The Scotsman's 'Best Edinburgh Fringe Comedy' list. His strength lies in his physical comedy. He is tall, lanky and can contort his body and twist his face into the most absurd shapes.
Low Effort Sketches
Low Effort Sketches are a comedy duo, made up of members Alice Wickersham and Andy Bucks. They deploy charm and "weapons-grade caterwauling" to make up for their general lack of stage presence, and it basically seems to work. They won Sketch Off in 2022, were Leicester Comedy Festival Circuit Breakers 2023, and were shortlisted for the BBC New Comedy Awards 2023.
Jane Postlethwaite
Jane Postlethwaite is queer Cumbrian stand-up comedian and writer who has been described as "darkly funny". This year she's been a regular on the North West comedy scene and been part of the Women in Comedy Festival. She was also recently a finalist in the Manchester Summer Roast Battle Competition. She's already working towards her first solo stand-up show Terrible People and producing a new spooky podcast Bats in the Attic for 2024.
Maxine Wade
A rising star of the northern comedy scene, Maxine Wade combines political satire with anecdotes of her time nursing in the NHS. Her hilarious quick fire gags and puns about real life stories you wouldn't believe happened to her will have you laughing all night. Saucy, sexy, and with a hint of sarcasm, Maxine has a reputation for bringing the house down'.
The Performance contest - open exclusively to subscribers of BCG Pro, British Comedy Guide's platform for comedy creatives and professionals working in the industry - is for those who perform on the stage. The initial entry round involved members uploading a video of themselves performing.
The award is split in two self-identified categories: one ('Starter') for those beginning their comedy careers and one ('Pro') for those who are more established. The above nominees are all Pro members and will now battle it for the crown in a live final with a public audience, to take place on Thursday 14th December 2023 at London's Museum Of Comedy, with Live At The Apollo star Shaparak Khorsandi hosting.
Starter winner: Ollie Fox
Meanwhile the winner of the Starter category - Ollie Fox - was picked outright by the judges and will perform at the live final as part of his prize.
Ollie is a London-based comedian. As a student he was a Chortle Student Comedy Award semi finalist, and has made waves on the comedy circuit since, winning gong shows around the country, including the infamous Top Secret Comedy Club gong show as a 22 year-old. He was described in the Notts Comedy Review as "Impressive ... he'll be quite formidable".
On receiving the news, he said: "Really pleased to be chosen as the winner, this award has been won by some great and lovely comedians the last few years which is always nice. Pretty sick."
Omar Ibrahim says: "After a rough few months, hearing I was in the final was just the good news I needed. I've realised that everything, absolutely everything, rests on this. But yeah, should be fun, feeling chill."
Kit Loyd commented: "Top Bins!"
The Low Effort Sketches duo note: "We are delighted, surprised, and confused to be finalists in the BCG Pro Performance Awards. Huge thank you to the judges for this very exciting honour!"
Jane Postlethwaite says: "Performing stand-up and writing comedy are my favourite things to do. So excited to be one of the finalists of this competition. It means the absolute world to me as I've worked so hard this year to get myself back on the northern comedy scene after 3 years away due to the pandemic."
Maxine Wade jokes: "I'm absolutely delighted to be in the BCG Pro Awards final! I just hope the judges and audience understand my Yorkshire accent!"
The BCG Pro Talent Awards will open again next year, with the submission window running from August to October 2024. Open to any live stage performers - stand-up, sketch or improv - entrants will again be asked to submit recordings of their act, filmed in any setting. More about the awards
This article is provided for free as part of BCG Pro.
Subscribe now for exclusive features, insight, learning materials, opportunities and other tools for the British comedy industry.