Two friends from the North East have been crowned as the winners of the 2023 Southport New Comedian of The Year contest – as the audience fed them the winning lines.
The prestigious contest, compered by Brendan Riley, is one of the highlights of the annual Southport Comedy Festival which takes place every autumn at Victoria Park in Southport.
The Halls of Ridiculous Chris Lumb (BBC Three: Russell Howard’s Good News) and Phil Allan-Smith (BBC One: This is My House) took home the trophy, sponsored by Dragon Soop, with a really unusual double act which left the audience roaring with laughter.
The pair push the boundaries of sketch and character creativity to the max with their quick thinking improvised scenes and quirky approach to performance.
Southport New Comedian of the Year winner Halls Of The Ridiculous. Photo by Andrew Brown Stand Up For Southport
Before they took to the stage, they asked members of the audience to write down words or phrases – which ranged from the sublime to the ridiculous – which they then weaved cleverly into their comedy improvisation acts.
Chris and Phil were acclaimed as the best up-and-coming comedians in Southport by a panel of judges which included: Caroline Constable (Dragon Soop), Alan Adams (Southport Flower Show General Manager), John Harding (Orient Express magician and comedian), Babu Patel (owner of SB Patel Chartered Accountants in Southport); and Andrew Brown (owner, Stand Up For Southport).
Tickets for the show were just £5 each, for a great night of entertainment featuring eight top acts from across the UK.
Southport New Comedian of the Year runner-up Sallyann Fellowes. Photo by Andrew Brown Stand Up For Southport
Runner-up on the night was Sallyann Fellowes, from Egham in Surrey. A regular on the stand-up circuit she brought “an unpredictable, unique brand of comedy weirdness”.
Third was Dave Wilder. Based in Brighton, by day Dave is a best-selling, award-winning author.
In his two short years doing stand-up he has already amassed a number of comedy accolades for his deadpan humour and his likker one-liners.
Southport New Comedian of the Year finalists Dave Wilder, who won third place. Photo by Andrew Brown Stand Up For Southport
Also impressing the audience at Southport New Comedian of The Year were: Dom Hatton-Woods, Josh Reynolds, Harry Jenkins, Martin Durchov, Lucas Jefcoate,
Southport Comedy Festival Director Brendan Riley said: “The Southport New Comedian of The Year grows in popularity every year, with comedians entering from across the UK.
“Over 100 comedians applied, with the top eight going forward to the final.
“Winning or being placed in this contest is a superb accolade and great for comedians’ CVs.
“Once again, we enjoyed a top class line-up of great acts, which left some very difficult decisions for our judges.
The Southport New Comedian of the Year finalists
“I would like to thank Dragon Soop, for once again sponsoring this year’s event.
“We enjoy giving a stage to up-and-coming new comedians in the industry and wish all our acts well in the future careers.
“Southport Comedy Festival continues this week!
“We have lots of great shows, including Jimeoin this Wednesday (sold out), Paul Sinha this Thursday, a brand new Disco Bingo night this Friday, a sold out Disco Bingo show this Saturday and then just a handful of tickets left for Rich Hall this Sunday.
Southport New Comedian of the Year compere Brendan Riley. Photo by Andrew Brown Stand Up For Southport
“Tickets for all our shows, in association with Halliwell Jones BMW, are available via our website: Southport Comedy Festival.”
Do you have a story for Stand Up For Southport? Do you need advertising, PR or media support? Please message Andrew Brown via Facebook here or email me at: mediaandrewbrownn@gmail.com
