If you can make people hoot with laughter for five minutes, then you’re in with a shout of being crowned The Great Yorkshire Fringe New Comedian Of The Year 2015.
Competition heats will run throughout next summer’s Great Yorkshire Fringe, ten days of comedy and entertainment in Parliament Street.
The grand final takes place on the last day of the festival, August 2.
Whoever wins will take home the Golden Pudding Award and £500. Better still, they book themselves a slot to perform at London’s Leicester Square Theatre.
Famous stand-ups including Stewart Lee, Richard Herring, Sarah Millican and Bill Bailey have stormed the very same venue.
The runner up will win £250 and third place is £150.
In hilarious company
The rules
The competition is open to any non-professional act that’s been performing for five years or less
Entries from character acts, musical acts and sketch groups are welcome
Contestants must stick to five minutes of original material
Entrants must be available for a heat at 5.30pm between July 24th and August 1st 2015, and the final on August 2nd 2015
More on the Great Yorkshire Fringe website
The competition has been successfully held in London for six years as the Leicester Square Theatre New Comedian of the Year.
Judged by comedy critics from the Guardian, Independent, Time Out and Chortle, winners have included Rob Beckett, Matt Rees and Tim Shishodia.
Among previous finalists are Dane Baptiste, who was nominated for Best Newcomer at Edinburgh Fringe this year, as well as Rachel Parris and Bobby Mair.
“Yorkshire is full of funny folk, and I know that we’ll have a blast seeing all the heats, culminating in the live final,” said Anne Taylor, spokesperson for The Great Yorkshire Fringe.
“The London competitions have launched the careers of some great names, and The Great Yorkshire Fringe
New Comedian of the Year 2015 competition will be no different!”
Fun on the fringe
The Great Yorkshire Fringe is a celebration of the weird, wise and wonderful and will see Parliament Street transformed into a vibrant and exciting performance space, with varied venues and plenty of entertainment for all ages.
There will see four purpose built venues, seating from 60 to 400 people, named The White Rose Rotunda, The Barm Pot, The Turn Pot and The Tea Pot, as well as bars and food areas.