Dave's Joke of the Fringe has officially been cancelled
The award has proven somewhat controversial over the years: the only jokes that really work in the format are often quite old fashioned puns and one liners, and it's rare that the winner has much bearing on the prevailing comedy zeitgeist. And the fact the winners can be quite naff is often used as a stick to beat the festival as a whole: Lorna Rose Treen's 2023 show Skin Pigeon (pictured) was an unusually hip winner but the gag that took the prize wasn't very representative, didn't really translate to being written down and caused a mini tabloid scandal.
Still, it's good exposure for both comedians and festival and if it's imperfect it is basically a good laugh.
So it's a shame that Joke of the Fringe is not happening this year. According to UKTV, which owns comedy Freeview channel Dave (technically now U&Dave), the award is officially just 'resting' this year and could come back, though in practise it seems unclear why they'd randomly can it this year and not next. Presumably the reason is purely financial: for a few years Dave sponsored the main awards too, but scaled back to the high profile Joke of the Fringe only.
Production company Need to Know Comedy has announced it's reviving its (Some Guy Called) Dave Award, which was initially a pandemic-era substitute for Joke of the Fringe: comics are invited to self-submit up to five gags from their show via email for consideration for the £250 prize. If you want to enter, drop needtoknowcomedy@gmail.com a message before August 11.
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