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
Winner Christy Coysh Christy Coysh with MCA Founder Ed Chappel Winning Moment!All of our finalistsHeadliner Mawaan Rizwan Host Josh WellerDINGEd MacArthur Flat & The Curves David HoareHel MacCormack Simon DavidOrlando Gibbs Rhiannon Hopkins Christy Coysh Edy Hurst Plastic Jeezus
Who will win the 2021 WeGotTickets MCAs? Join us for a riotous celebration of the UK’s best up and coming musical comedians to find out!
Since 2009, the MCA have helped to launch the likes of Abandoman, Rachel Parris, Mae Martin, Jay Foreman and Frisky and Mannish. If you enjoy acts that combine comedy with music such as Bill Bailey, Tim Minchin and Flight of the Conchords, you will love this show!
The final of the 2021 WeGotTickets MCA will see ten finalists who have progressed through heats at the Phoenix in London, battle it out at the Bloomsbury Theatre on October 23rd, to win the musical comedy crown of this prestigious competition. A sell-out event every year since 2009.
Featuring the following brilliant finalists:
Rhiannon ‘Ray Ray’ Hopkins Ed MacArthur DING David Hoare Christy Coysh Hel MacCormack Flat & The Curves Simon David Orlando Gibbs Edy Hurst
Plus a performance from our Best Newcomers, Plastic Jeezus!
Headlined by Mawaan Rizwan!
Mawaan has appeared on BBC2’s Live at the Apollo and Channel 4’s Harry Hill’s Clubnite, captivating audiences with his joyful yet deeply honest stand-up. His live performances of his songs ‘Mango’ and ‘Never Been Skiing’ both went viral last year. His Edinburgh 2018 show ‘Juice’ was a critical and commercial success, performing to sell-out audiences and receiving a plethora of 4 and 5 star reviews for his ‘thirst-quenching joy-ride of a stand up set’. Mawaan also supported ‘Queer Eye’s’ Jonathan Van Ness on his tour ‘The Road to Beijing’, in UK, Australia and New Zealand.
Mawaan featured on the inaugural series of Taskmaster for C4, and also served as co-host on Jonathan Ross’ Comedy Club on ITV.
As an actor he stars in ‘Two Weeks to Live’ alongside Maisie Williams, a new 6 part comedy series for Sky One and HBO Max. He has also starred in the ITV Drama ‘Next of Kin’ as well as the BAFTA winning ‘Murdered By My Father’.
Mawaan’s writing credit on Netflix’ ‘Sex Education’ (series 2 and 3) earned him a spot on Forbes’ 30 under 30 list.
Hosted by JOSH WELLER!
Weller’s high energy brand of cleverly self-deprecating stand-up landed him on pro bills after just one year on the circuit. In addition to his live comedy work, Josh has developed a loyal fanbase for his online content, which includes sketches, live pub quizzes, professional trolling, animated stand-up comedy shorts, character work, and more. In 2020, he was included in Twitter’s Valentine’s Campaign, featured on billboards across the US and UK.
We can now reveal our contestants for the 2021 WeGotTickets MCA! Firstly, we need to say that we were so impressed by the entries received by email, FB and Twitter that Tamara and I decided to raise the number of contestants from 20 up to 30. We have therefore added another show at the Phoenix on October 2nd. We can also reveal our headliners for the three shows will be Huge Davies, Sooz Kempner and Jess Robinson. Tickets for all the shows (including a Phoenix Pass for all 3 shows) are now available at http://www.wegottickets.com/musicalcomedyawards.
We would like to also say that for the 2022 competition we will return to 8 shows between the months of January and March, but our 2021 comp is slightly condensed due to Covid forcing us to push our 2020 final back numerous times. To those of you who have not been selected this time, thanks very much for entering and we will again be receiving entries after our final in late October, so if you would like to give it another shot then we would be happy to receive your entry! So, here are our top 30 in random order (we will be in touch soon about heat allocation, please ensure that you have completed an entry form if you haven’t yet done so). Congratulations!
Nikola McMurtrie Christy Coysh Ed MacArthur Flat & The Curves Chris Too Plastic Jeezus Emily Cairns Hel MacCormack Sweet Bunch Viktor Hampson Performing Animals Thalia Leon Tom Keenan Ric Birthill Abi Carter-Simpson Ben Carter Ding Orlando Gibbs Joseph Emslie Jim Daly The Real Cheesemakers David Hoare Rhiannon Ray Ray Hopkins Masters of the Scene Simon David Fladam Brice Ledingham Thomas Field Edy Hurst Edi Johnston
Due to the pandemic we had a shortfall this year in takings, as people understandably often want to pay less for a live-stream than for a real seat in the theatre. If you enjoyed the final, please help us to pay our artists with a tip here: https://ko-fi.com/musicalcomedyawards Thanks so much! Xxx
Here is the first batch of photos! Copyright Elina Kansikas, please accredit when sharing! If you missed the final you can book a catch-up ticket until Monday 4pm via http://www.wegottickets.com/musicalcomedyawards. NextUp will email you with a full recording on Monday early evening. Reviews and more photos to follow!
After three cancellations due to Covid we finally had our final! Thanks so much to all of our acts, the Bloomsbury and all their brilliant staff, WeGotTickets, NextUp, our fantastic judges and especially to our audiences for supporting us in this difficult year. Here are our results:
If you missed the show you can book a ticket for the catch-up via www.wegottickets.com/musicalcomedyawards until Monday at 4pm. On Monday the link to the recording will be sent to you via email.
Corona hit us for six just like everyone else and we ended up changing the date three times, but now tomorrow on June 12th we can proudly say that we have an incredible show lined up for you. Filmed from 4 different angles, the Netflix of comedy, NextUp Comedy will stream our final live from the Bloomsbury theatre. Who will win the 12th MCA?
Our judges will be:
Bruce Dessau – Editor of beyondthejoke.co.uk and Comedy Critic for Evening Standard
Mark Boosey – Editor of British Comedy Guide
Kathleen Price – Producer of Stage Award for Funny Women
Stuart Wilson – Editor of ToDoList London
Poppy Hillstead – Ebdon Management
Hils Jago – Founder of Amused Moose Comedy
If you have booked, NextUp will send you the link to the show at roughly 5.30/6pm GMT. Please check all inboxes. The link could land in the regular, promotions or spam folder depending on your email server. At 8.30/9pm you’ll also receive an email for voting where you can vote for your two favourite acts. On Monday afternoon you will receive an email with a link to the catch-up option, where you can watch a recording of the show at your own pace.
If you missed the final, from Saturday 10pm until Monday 4pm you can book a ticket for the catch-up option via http://www.wegottickets.com/musicalcomedyawards. You’ll then receive an email from NextUp on Monday afternoon with a link to the recording.
If you haven’t booked yet, we have space as it’s a live-stream! Potential audience of 7 billion, phew, I better keep working. We’d love to have you along if you have not booked yet! Enjoy the final! Photos, reviews and more to follow soon!
Behold the beauty and talent of our postponed 2020 WeGotTickets Musical Comedy Awards Final competitors and Best Newcomers! Having waited over a year we are a bit restless to say the least and just can’t wait to proudly celebrate and show off the finest acts of the 2020 competition! Book your tickets for the live-stream hosted by online comedy professionals NextUp Comedy (you can get 10% off a subscription at Nextupcomedy.com with the code MCA2021). Book tickets here this very instant at http://www.wegottickets.com/musicalcomedyawards
Canadians in Space Tom Taylor Chris RioBennet Kavanagh 2MouthedMenShelfAmy Webber Alex MacKeith Jamie FinnStepdads Best Newcomers – Best Friends Cabaret
The long wait is over! After twice being postponed due to the pandemic we are actually going to have our 2020 WeGotTickets Musical Comedy Awards Final! Who will win the 12th MCAs? Join us for a riotous celebration of the UK’s best up and coming musical comedians to find out!
Since 2009, the MCA have helped to launch the likes of Abandoman, Rachel Parris, Mae Martin, Jay Foreman and Frisky and Mannish. If you enjoy acts that combine comedy with music such as Bill Bailey, Tim Minchin and Flight of the Conchords, you will love this show!
The final of the 2020 WeGotTickets MCA will see ten finalists who have progressed through a series of heats at the Phoenix in London, battle it out at the Bloomsbury Theatre on April 10th, to win the musical comedy crown of this prestigious competition. A sell-out event every year since 2009.
FIRST EVER MCA LIVE STREAM!
Teaming up with the powerful reach of the hugely successful comedy subscription service NextUp, who have developed an incredible way to amplify the joy, laughter and power of live comedy to an unlimited global audience online, the MCA final will be streamed for the first time. We are so thrilled to be working with NextUp, who will help us to bring the MCA final to a huge online audience of dedicated comedy fans and break down the physical and geographical barriers for musical comedy fans around the world.
Purchasing a streaming ticket for the final will also provide you with discounted access to their phenomenal catalogue of comedy specials from rising stars and household names. Check out their A-Z of shows on their website – quite simply the world’s best comedians all in one place online. Online ticket-holders will also be able to vote online for their audience favourite (cash prize of £250). Industry judges will decide on the winner of the MCA (cash prize of £750) and our 2020 Best Newcomer will also be announced (cash prize of £200). In 2021, NextUp members also get access to all of their live-streamed shows (50+) throughout the year, from all over the country and beyond. Check them out at Nextupcomedy.com. 10% discount off the first year with code MCA2021.
Our confirmed finalists so far include:
STEPDADS Stepdads is a funk-comedy double act that wish they were your dad (but who are glad he went to prison). Luke Rollason and Tom Penn are guaranteed to erase your memories of childhood and replace them with better ones. Sketch Off 2019 – 2nd Place Musical Comedy Awards 2019 – 2nd Place Sketch Off 2020 – Finalists “It might be funny to perform in your pants and fall over but it’s hardly pushing the comedy envelope.” (Bruce Dessau)
ALEXANDER MACKEITH Alex is not only a gifted musical comedian, but also a critically acclaimed playwright (School Play), was nominated for Most Promising New Playwright at the Off West End Awards 2018 and is one third of sketch trio Princes of Main (“consistently funny… able to get laughter from all sorts of angles” — Chortle).
SHELF Since their formation, Shelf have performed at Bestival, London Pride, and been nominated for Sketchfest’s Best New Act award. Their work has appeared on BBC3 and LADBible. THE SKINNY”…cool and relevant”EdFringe Review”a winning hybrid of sketch show and standup.”
AMY WEBBER Amy accidentally fell into comedy in 2019 when she was commissioned to write a song about a ‘show-off’ singer and realised she could combine her two favourite things – singing and trying to make people laugh. As well as being a 2019 ‘Beat the Frog’ finalist in Manchester, Amy has performed live on BBC Radio 4’s Front Row and has a weekly feature on BBC Radio Manchester’s Friday afternoon show. “Phenomenal and versatile singer” Chortle “Funny and impressive” BBC Radio Manchester
2 MOUTHED MEN Beatboxing. Sketch Comedy. At the same time. 2 Mouthed Men is a brand-new musical comedy act taking the UK by storm. Utilising beatboxing, rap, poetry, guitar, bass and looping, Daniel Stanger-Corwell and James Hawley are a double act for the modern age and bring their insane energy to the stage every time, putting the audience in stitches. ★★★★★ “Simply fantastic” – BingeFringe “A ★★★★★ box of comedy beats!” – The Review Chap ‘Fun. Fresh. And fantastically funky!’ London Theatre Reviews
JAMIE FINN Jamie has been performing musical comedy for two years. He writes songs about his mundane and deeply awkward love life. Jamie draws upon his real life experiences and makes them rhyme. What larks! This is the second year in a row Jamie has made it to the final of the MCA’s and over the moon that he gets to perform at the lovely Bloomsbury in October!’
BENNET KAVANAGH Bennet started writing and performing sketch comedy at university in Leeds, where he also began performing his surreal brand of musical comedy. In the last 3 years he has been a finalist in several national comedy competitions and was shortlisted for the BAFTA Rocliffe TV Comedy Writing Initiative in 2019 for the sitcom he co-wrote. “a very good set” – NottsComedyReview “witty musical comedy” – GetReading.co.uk “assured set” – British Comedy Guide
CHRIS RIO
Chris Rio is a fresh-faced comic based in Cardiff and has stormed his way into the finals of the WeGotTickets Musical Comedy Awards (much to his own surprise). He adopts a joyful and introspective style and, with the help of his trusty ukulele, has a knack of finding the awkwardness in almost any situation. When he’s not on stage he’s a playworker; gleefully getting paid to play Monopoly with 7 year olds.
CANADIANS IN SPACE
Do you remember the good old days, when a song with a dance routine was all the rage? Canadians In Space are from Barnsley, South Yorkshire and have never been to Canada. They are a songwriting duo (trio when live) and perform mildly hilarious pop songs so colloquial or irrelevant that the comedic interjections are often unintentional but necessary. They journey through space and time (mostly time) rediscovering their imagined shared past in a village neither grew up in. They are considered pioneers in the Soap Popera genre, based on the fact they coined the phrase and, in turn, the genre. If you love music and comedy then you are guaranteed 50% satisfaction.
TOM TAYLOR
A favourite of live bookers across the UK, Tom Taylor has previously supported Simon Munnery, John Kearns and Abandoman on tour, reached the final of English Comedian of the Year 2018 and performed on Radio 2 and Radio 4 as part of the BBC Radio New Comedy Award.
“Wave after wave of funny … a genuine joy” – The Scotsman
Plus a set from our 2020 Best Newcomers, BEST FRIENDS CABARET!
Best Friends Alice and Livvy met at university in 2018 and have been codependent ever since. They first performed Best Friends Cabaret in the 2019 Camden Fringe Festival, and also appeared in Shook: The Art of Being a Millennial, before taking part in the MCAs. Contrary to appearances, by day they have surprisingly serious jobs: Livvy manages a theatre and Alice manages actors.
Featuring a headline performance from the Amused Moose People’s Champion of 2019 and the winner of our competition ‘Crooners Against Corona,’ ARCHIE HENDERSON!
We first saw Archie as part of sketch act Two Plus Ones in the 2017 WeGotTickets MCA, where he and the group won the Best Newcomer Act for that year. The next year Archie came joint 2nd as a solo artist in the 2018 WeGotTickets MCA. He has since released an album of comedy funk songs as Jazz Emu (over 400k listeners across all platforms) and co-created a Twitter thread with Adrian Gray titled ‘Best Song of Every Decade’, which has racked up over 3 million views and featured as an official ‘Twitter moment’. His videos are downright hilarious and breathtakingly original. “A very funny man” Greg James, BBC Radio 1 “A phenomenal level of production” ★★★★ The Wee Review “This is a talent that’s on the rise” ★★★★ Broadway Baby “Highly entertaining, and deserving of attention as a breakthrough act.” Steve Bennett, Chortle
Hosted by MCA resident MC and MCA legend, the one and only NICK HORSEMAN!
musical comedy awards 