Dear friends,

On October 1st we will again be opening entries for the 2023 WeGotTickets Musical Comedy Awards. It will be our 15th year and we are so honoured to have had the opportunity to host so many brilliant up and coming musical comedy acts during this time. Amazing acts such as Rachel Parris, Abandoman, Frisky and Mannish, Mae Martin and Jay Foreman are just a few of the wonderful performers that we’ve had the pleasure of working with. We can’t wait for a return to full capacity shows at the Phoenix and to have the sensational Rachel Parris headline our final on March 31st at the Bloomsbury. But most of all, we can’t wait to see your entries and see the diverse array of talent on display for the 2023 WeGotTickets MCA!

All info on how to enter from October 1st here: https://musicalcomedyawards.com/2023-awards/

Get those entries ready and see you soon!

Ed, Tamara, Dave and Charlie! Xxx

Our 2022 final was such an exceptional evening. We are so grateful to all of our incredible finalists for their performances and for making it such an unforgettable night! You can read a review of the evening from renowned comedy critic Bruce Dessau here: https://www.beyondthejoke.co.uk/content/11910/musical-comedy

We can’t wait for our 2023 competition – entries will be opening from October and we will let you know once all the information has been updated. So start getting those entries ready!

The 2022 final is close to selling out! Book the very last tickets here: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/culture/whats-on/musical-comedy-awards-2022

Due to Covid, Isy Suttie has sadly had to pull out of performing on Saturday. We wish her and her family a speedy recovery and look forward to welcoming her back to the MCA stage soon. Luckily, we have the multi award-winning musical comedian Sooz Kempner to finish off the show in style! Here is some more info about Sooz:

Sooz is an award-winning (Musical Comedy Awards Best Newcomer, Funny Women Variety Award) comedian and singer who has taken shows to seven Edinburgh fringes and has appeared on BBC, Comedy Central and ITV with her nonsense. During lockdown she went viral with her videos of Liza Minnelli delivering Donald Trump speeches verbatim. Outside comedy she is a regular collaborator with Richard Thomas (Jerry Springer the Opera, This Morning with Richard not Judy).

Show-stopping – CNN

Delightfully unhinged – The Metro

It shouldn’t work but it really, really does – The Independent

Take a look at our amazing finalists, all 12 of them! Who will win the 2022 WeGotTickets Musical Comedy Awards? Join headliner Isy Suttie, host Nick Horseman and our finalists for an unforgettable night of music-based comedy on April 9th at the Bloomsbury theatre. Last tickets available at https://www.ucl.ac.uk/culture/whats-on/musical-comedy-awards-2022

Whilst we are still checking for either a minimum of double vaccination or a negative lateral flow test, we are so happy to be able to welcome back bigger crowds! Experience the electric atmosphere of the Phoenix this Saturday as the multi award-winning comedian Phil Nichol headlines a hotly contested MCA Quarter-Final!

Which two acts will be joining Amy Webber and Simon David as finalists at the Bloomsbury Theatre on April 9th (headlined by the incredible Isy Suttie)? Join us to find out! Extra tickets for Saturday have been added at www.wegottickets.com/musicalcomedyawards 

After this Saturday we also have the brilliant Jay Foreman and the inimitable Abandoman as headliners. Come and watch the very best of our 2022 competitors in action alongside top stars of the musical comedy circuit!

After careful consultation with all of our performers and crew, we have decided on the following course of action for the 2022 MCA first round heats. Please be aware the current situation is fast-moving and should the situation change we also have contingency plans in place for online shows.

The first round heats will take place as live shows at the Phoenix but with a hugely reduced capacity of 40 tickets (as opposed to 120). Strict entrance regulations to protect our performers, audience and crew whereby all attendees need to be at least double vaccinated PLUS be able to show a negative rapid lateral flow test which has been done on the same day as the show. The proof of vaccination and negative LTF result needs to be shown upon entry using the NHS Covid app. Any customers who cannot fulfil these criteria can of course get a refund. Once the situation has hopefully eased in the coming months we may be able to adapt these rules.

Any acts who cannot or would prefer not to attend can send us a video of their 6 minute set which will performed on the Phoenix projector. Audience members must wear masks when arriving and also when moving around the venue.

Fingers crossed we will be able to do these live shows and with extra caution (and the option to stay away and perform remotely if preferred) we can still put on a great show with extra safety precautions.

Thanks all and we can’t wait to show off the talent of 2022!

Ed, Tamara, Dave and Charlie xxx

We are thrilled to announce the top 40 acts competing in the 2022 WeGotTickets Musical Comedy Awards! We are closely monitoring the situation with regards to Covid. We hope that we will be able to have the shows at the Phoenix as planned but are also making contingency plans to have the shows online. We will make a final decision early in the new year. Thanks so much to all the acts who entered the competition. If you were not selected, we would like to offer you two complimentary tickets to one of the first round heats. You can contact Ed at ed@musicalcomedy.co.uk and we can sort you out with some free tickets to one of the shows. All the shows can be viewed at http://www.wegottickets.com/musicalcomedyawards.

Here are the top 40 acts that will be taking part in the 2022 competition in random order!

Finn Murphy

Andy Roach

Nina Carter-Brown

Hangdog

Rosalyn Miller

Joseph Emslie

Kayleigh Jones

Bazely and Zapp

Lucas Jeffcoate

Mia Borthwick

Danny Malone

Hattie Snooks

Amy Webber

Joshua James

Kit Sullivan

Michael Julings

Chris Timoney

Orlando Gibbs

Alex Franklin

Jenny O’ Sullivan

The Sugarcoated Sisters

Tom Keenan

Andy & Adam’s Parade of Shame

Nathan Plant

Nikola McMurtrie

Abi Carter-Simpson

Joe Venable

Jim Daily

Simon David

Alex Prescot

Aimee Cooper

Talal Karkouti

Moses Mpoza Ssebandeke

Anky Damz

Masters of the Scene

Jeff Japers

Ellen O’ Reilly

Daniel Macleod

Jake Fireman

Stu Horgan

Thalia

We hope you are as excited about the coming MCA as we are! So many brilliant new acts taking part! Whilst the Phoenix is a smaller venue and therefore exempt from the new regulations for vaccine passes, we would like to be extra cautious in order to provide everyone with a safe experience at the MCAs. That’s why we are asking all attendees – our audience members, acts performing and staff to show their NHS Covid-19 App when arriving at the box office. This needs to show a minimum of two vaccinations, a negative PCR test or a negative rapid lateral flow test taken within the last 48 hours. If you have any symptoms please contact us via support@wegottickets.com and we can reschedule your booking, but please don’t come. Masks will be required when entering and moving around the building, but not when you are seated. Thanks for your understanding!

Ed and Tamara x

Less than 2 weeks to enter the 2022 WeGotTickets MCA! Do you combine music and comedy? Enjoy meeting other musical comedy acts? Fancy performing at the Phoenix in central London for the heats and a paid gig at the Bloomsbury Theatre in front of industry audience? Then you should enter the 2022 MCA! You can either send an email with a video link to ed@musicalcomedy.co.uk, or also enter via FB or Twitter. Read more about entering here: https://musicalcomedyawards.com/2022-awards/.

Also, check out our headliners for the 2022 competition:

Jan 15th – Christy Coysh
Jan 22nd – Flat & the Curves
Jan 29th – Matt Hutson
Feb 5th – Tracey Collins as Shell Suit Cher
Feb 19th – Tony Law
Feb 26th – Tom Basden
March 12th – Jay Foreman
March 19th – ABANDOMAN
April 9th – Isy Suttie

See all 8 Phoenix shows for £15! Tickets at www.wegottickets.com/musicalcomedyawards

Thank you so much to all of you who either came along to the Bloomsbury or tuned into the live-stream! Barring technical difficulties with the live-stream (any customers who experienced streaming difficulties can receive a recording of the show plus a month’s free streaming – please email tom@nextupcomedy.com), it was a truly outstanding event and a wonderful celebration of musical comedy. Thanks to our host Josh Weller, headliner Mawaan Rizwan, best newcomers Plastic Jeezus and all of our finalists for their fantastic performances. We will soon be opening entries for the 2022 competition!

The Audience Favourite was David Hoare, in 3rd place was Orlando Gibbs, 2nd place went to Flat and The Curves and the winner of the 2021 WeGotTickets Musical Comedy Awards was Christy Coysh! Photos below from the brilliant Elina Kansikas! Book yourself in for the 2022 final on April 9th with Isy Suttie (Dobby from Peep Show) here: www.wegottickets.com/musicalcomedyawards