Stays in Sydney and Adelaide added to the package

More Australian comedy clubs are backing the Chortle Student Comedy Award to ensure this year’s winner gets a trip of a lifetime.

We had already joined forces with  Comedy Lounge in Perth who will be flying our winner to Australia to perform stand-up at their club, with  accommodation paid for.

Now the Comedy Store in Sydney and the Rhino Room in Adelaide have offered the 2020 student comedian of the year similarly unrepeatable experiences.

Our winner will get to play the Friday night gig in Adelaide, the city’s best club, and a run of spots at the biggest gig in Sydney.

A spokesman for the Comedy Store said: ‘The Comedy Store is stoked to host a new mate from the UK. They will have the chance to perform right besides the very best Australia can offer, so we look forwards to a winner who can match, and even surpass that quality.’

Precise details of the trip will be agreed with the winner once they are crowned at the Edinburgh Fringe, to git in with their availability. But it will include: return flights from the UK to Australia; at least 14 nights’ accommodation while there; gigs in Perth, Adelaide and Sydney; all internal flights; and a small amount of spending money.

Chortle editor Steve Bennett said: ‘Thanks to our friends at the Comedy Lounge, Comedy Store and Rhino Rooms this is the best prize we’ve ever offered for our student winner: a fantastic working holiday to see what Australia has to offer and gig at the country’s best comedy venues. This will be one unforgettable experience.’

But if you think you have what it takes to claim the crown, you need to be quick as entries close at 9am tomorrow morning– the form is below.

The Chortle Student Comedy Award has provided a valuable stepping stone for stand-ups including Joe Lycett, Phil Wang, Strictly’s Chris Ramsey, Simon Bird and Tom Rosenthal from Friday Night Dinner and the voice of Love Island, Iain Stirling.

This year, we will be visiting 13 universities around the UK, kicking off in Reading on February 18. We then visit the universities of Warwick, Southampton, Salford, York, Durham, Lincoln, UWE (Bristol), Cardiff, Glasgow, St Andrews, Goldsmiths (South London) and SMUL (East London). All the details are here.

The winners of each heat – plus around a dozen wildcards and winner of the people’s choice vote – will be invited to perform at semi-finals at the Bill Murray in London in May. Then the finalists will take part in a showcase on the main comedy stage at the Latitude Festival in July; followed by the always-thrilling final in the Pleasance at the Edinburgh Fringe.

As well as the main prize, our runner-up will receive £250.

Please make sure you’ve read the terms and conditions fully before you enter.

Published: 6 Feb 2020