edinburgh Comedy Awards

The if.comedy awards, formerly the Perrier comedy awards, are a group of prizes awarded annually to comedy shows at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. They are generally acknowledged as the best-known comedy accolades to be awarded during the Festival.

The prize was initially a week's run at the New End Theatre in Hampstead and a small cheque. Now winners receive £7,500 and a run in London's Theatreland. Since 1992, there has also been a "Best Newcomer" award.

The awards' name derives from their sponsor, the Scottish-based bank Intelligent Finance, also known by their Internet domain name if.com. In 2006, the awards were briefly known under the alternative spelling if.comeddies. Until 2005, they were sponsored by mineral water brand Perrier.

Controversy

Before 2006, the then Perrier Comedy Awards were the subject of some controversy within the Edinburgh Fringe. In 1995 Perrier was bought by Nestle, whose ambivalent relationship with the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes led to calls to boycott the awards, which were taken up by some fringe venues and performers on an individual basis. The takeover also led to former winners Emma Thompson and Steve Coogan calling for the awards to be scrapped. In 2001 Rob Newman led a campaign of protest against the award. On his DVD "Stand Up Comedian", Stewart Lee also issued a call for the boycotting of the award based on the practices of Nestle.

Separately, the 2002 awards were criticised for being the second consecutive year in which no female acts were shortlisted.

See also

• List of if.comedy and Perrier comedy award winners

External links

• Official site
• BBC News report on the replacement
• London tour dates announced
• Talents who sparkled in comedy's hall of fame - a where are they now? piece covering previous winners from BBC News.