Competition finalists announced

The Birmingham comedy festival has revealed the shortlist for its 2023 Breaking Talent Award.

The five acts nominated for the award are: Hasan Al-Habib, Rachel Baker, Joe Bingham, Josh Reynolds and Chris Yates.

A festival spokesperson  said: ‘It's always a tough task for our selection panel to decide on a list of just five acts from the city and surrounding areas, as there is so much exceptional comedy talent here. So these five acts represent some of the very best, which will, without a doubt, make our award night another very special show.’

Born in North London, to Iraqi parents, Hasan Al-Habib moved to Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, aged three, and went to school in central Birmingham.  A Chortle student finalist last year,  he is now back in London, where he works as a policy analyst for the House of Commons.

"I love jokes where the punchline comes out of the blue," Hasan says, "as well as acting out characters to enhance material and employing lots of accents and impressions."

Rachel Baker lives in Cotteridge, Birmingham, and works in the arts as an assistant producer. She first tried comedy while studying at the University of Birmingham.

Citing comedy actresses such as Emma Chambers, Caroline Aherne, Meera Syal and Julie Walters as inspirations, she describes her style of comedy as ‘hectic in a controlled way. A bit cheeky. I like to approach each set differently, as every audience and room is unique; there is always something about the audience or venue that you can have a shared laugh about’.

Birmingham-born, Joe Bingham spends his time between Yardley, Birmingham, and London. A project manager, he made his stand-up debut at the Patrick Kavanagh, Moseley, in 2019. Among his comedy heroes are US stars Dave Chappelle, Bill Burr and Katt Williams and he performs ‘observational comedy around my life experiences, and opinions on the world around me’.

Raised "all over Staffordshire," Josh Reynolds currently calls Newcastle-under-Lyme home. A digital marketer, his stand-up debut was a five-minute spot alongside several poets at a scratch night at Mitchell Arts Centre, in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, in January 2020. A fan of Stewart Lee and James Acaster, Josh says: My comedy is mostly autobiographical, but I try to highlight the mundanity and normality of attributes and experiences that are quite niche.’

Chris Yates lives in Malvern, Worcestershire and works in logistics. A University of Birmingham graduate whose CV also includes local band Johnny Kowalski and the Sexy Weirdos, he first stepped onto a comedy stage at The Hare and Hounds, Kings Heath, Birmingham, in late 2021 following a course with Brum comic James Cook

Describing himself as a ‘failed musician and bedraggled millennial layabout,’ Chris says ‘other people describe my stuff as "weird" or "dark" quite a lot. Really, I'm just writing down what I think is funny, and then saying it, and hoping other people agree.’

The Birmingham Comedy Festival Breaking Talent Award 2023 takes place at The Glee Club in Birmingham, on Friday  October 6.  Previous winners include Josh Pugh, Celya AB and Andrew McBurne..

The night is compèred by James Cook and closes with a special set from Josh Jones. For more information visit www.bhamcomfest.co.uk

Published: 6 Sep 2023