Russell Kane is more than able in the comedy stakes

Published on Saturday 28 August 2010 16:23

RUSSELL Kane scooped the prestigious Fosters Edinburgh Comedy Award yesterday, beating off two strong female contenders in an awards ceremony at the city's arts festival.

• Russell Kane

The 30-year-old comedian, from Westcliffe-on-Sea in Essex, also won 10,000 for the "most outstanding, up-and-coming, funny, original comedy show or act" after seeing off competition from Josie Long and Sarah Millican, both former Best Newcomer winners.

Al Murray and last year's winner Tim Key presented Kane with the award, marking the 30th anniversary of the event at the city's Spiegeltent.

Kane also beat fellow nominees Greg Davies and 20-year-old Bo Burnham, the youngest comic ever to be nominated for the award.

Awards' director Nica Burns said Kane "takes the audience by storm with his boundless energy and enthusiasm."

In his acceptance speech Kane said he had "worked his b****cks off" on the show and thanked his "egg-carrier" (he feels uncomfortable with the word wife) and his agents, Avalon.

Kane, who phoned his mother immediately after winning the award to break the news, said of his show: "It is about the council house I grew up in - The Castle. I go room by room and explore my childhood home.

"The previous shows were about big ideas. This year's show was really personal. I thought it was really simple but sometimes when you boil it all down gems start to appear. I really enjoyed doing it."

In reaching their decision, the judging panel saw 416 shows, attending nearly 1200 performances over three weeks. Londoner Roisin Conaty was voted Best Newcomer out of an eclectic shortlist of An Audience With Imran Yusuf, Asher Treleaven, Gareth Richards, Late Night Gimp Fight and The Boy With The Tape On His Face.

In 2005, Conaty was one of the first five beneficiaries of the Charlie Harthill Special Reserve Fund offered by The Pleasance to help with finance and enable young talent to put on a show on the Fringe.

Conaty, from Camden, said her experience on this year's Fringe had been "life changing in terms of doing a show every day," and added: "I've learned so much."

Burns, who awarded her with the 5,000 prize, added: "In a diverse and highly talented shortlist, Roisin impressed the panel with her ability to make the audience laugh at her daily struggle to understand life. She is charming, charismatic and popular."

The Foster's Panel Prize, also worth 5,000, went to Bo Burnham for Words, Words, Words.

The youngster, from Boston, shot to fame through his musical comedy performances after becoming a YouTube sensation overnight and has had 65 million viewers and counting.

His show has been described by Burns as being "in a different ballpark". "It is absolutely the greatest debut show Edinburgh has seen," she added.

Stephen Armstrong, chair of the 2010 panel, added: "He used every available new tech trick in the book to get famous. The smart move would have been to stay at home and monetise your click rate.Instead he covered the floor with ripped-up newspaper, and darted about the stage with odd props, poems, gags and songs."

This was the first time there had been two female comics on the shortlist, and Burnham, at just newly 20 years old, succeeds Jack Whitehall as the youngest ever nominee.

There has been no Scottish winner since 1987 and no Scottish nominee since 1993, although Kevin Bridges was nominated as Best Newcomer last year.