English Comedian of the Year

Ha Ha Comedy & HireAComedian.co.uk are to scoure the length and breadth of the England, from Newcastle to Newquay, to seek out the very best in English Stand Up Comedy with the first ever English Comedian of the Year Competition. The Grand final will take place at the Leicester Square Theatre in London on St George's Day.

The competition is open to all English comedians no matter how long they have been performing or how high a profile they may have.

The English Comedian of the Year competition follows on from the huge success of Ha Ha Comedy's annual Scottish Comedian of the Year competition, which was nominated for Best Traditional Event in the 2008 Scottish Event Awards.

Heats for the English Comedian of the Year Competition will be held at venues across England, throughout February and March. Three semi finals will be held at the start of April and the Grand Final will take place on Thursday 23rd April 2009 in the Leicester Square Theatre, London.

The winners of the Heats and Semi finals will be decided by audience vote, where as for the final we will have a panel of comedy industry experts.

So what about the competition, are you funny enough to win?

If so, what's the prize?

1st Prize - £1000 in hard cash,

plus the coveted Tommy Cooper's Fez inspired Trophy.

plus inclusion in the English Comedian of the Year showcase tour.

plus inclusion in the English Comedian of the Year shows at The Edinburgh Fringe 2009.

plus a solo show during the Glasgow Comedy Festival 2010 promoted by Ha Ha Comedy.

2nd Prize - £300 in hard cash,

plus inclusion in the English Comedian of the Year showcase tour

plus inclusion in the English Comedian of the Year shows at The Edinburgh Fringe 2009

3rd Prize - £100 in hard cash,

plus inclusion in the English Comedian of the Year showcase tour

plus inclusion in the English Comedian of the Year shows at The Edinburgh Fringe 2009

The winner of each heat & each semi final will receive £50 in hard cash.

Heats being held throughout February and March in

Birmingham , Bristol , London , Manchester , Newcastle upon Tyne , Plymouth , Sheffield , Southampton

And possibly a couple of others depending on demand.

Semi Finals being held at the start of April in

London, South West, Midlands and North

To enter please download and complete this application form then email it here before Saturday 25th January 2009.

The Rules

1. Acts must meet one the following entry criteria:

Born or educated in England .

Resided in England for more than twelve consecutive months.

Married to someone English.

Have at least one English Parent, Grandmother or Grandfather.

2. Acts must perform their own, original, material.

3. Acts must stick to the allotted time for each round.

· For the Heats the acts can perform a maximum 7minute set.

· In the Final, the acts can perform a maximum 10 minute set.

Please note that Failure to adhere to competition rule 2 or 3 will result in either points being deducted from audience voting or elimination from the competition. Ha Ha Comedy Promoters will decide what action to take in each separate case, and will take any action that they see fit, either at the heat or afterwards.

4. Acts must be available to perform if required in one of Semi Finals held across England from 1^st – 5^th of April and the Final on Thursday 23^rd April 2009 at the Leicester Square Theatre in London

5. In all cases the Ha Ha Comedy Promoters reserve the right to make any decision they deem necessary, and each case will be judged on its own merits. Any decision the Ha Ha Comedy promoters and their representatives make is final.

6. The winner, runner up and 3^rd place of each heat will be decided by an audience vote. These three acts will then proceed to a semi final.

7. In the event of a tie between two acts for third place at a heat the crowd will decide with a “cheer off”.

8. In the semi finals voting and qualification will follow the same format as the heats.

9. The winner and second placed act per semi final will go through to the Final.

10. Two spaces at the final will be reserved for the wild card entrants. These will be reserved for any two semi finalists of who failed to win through the audience vote. The wild card entrants will be decided by representatives of Ha Ha Comedy.

11.The final will be judged by a team of industry professionals chosen by Ha Ha Comedy.

12. Entrants consent to being filmed and recorded by Ha Ha Comedy where required for the Campaign and for films or recordings made pursuant to this rule being used for any media established now or in the future.

13. Entrants, by entering waive in favour of the Ha Ha Comedy and those authorised by it any so-called “moral rights” they may have in relation to the recording of their performance and any interviews carried out as part of the marketing campaign of competition.

14. Entry to the Competition by Entrants is done at their own risk. Attendance by Entrants at any Event staged by Ha Ha Comedy and travel to and from any such Event is also at the Entrant's own risk and expense and the Ha Ha Comedy accepts no responsibility or liability in this regard.

15. Whilst every attempt will be made to fit you into a heat that is easiest for you to travel to, this may not always be possible. Early entry is advisable if you need to get to a specific heat.