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!
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!
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!
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
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
musical comedy awards 