The (Almost) Famous Five Announced For 2011

Media Release
For Immediate Release

The (Almost) Famous Five Announced For 2011

It’s another year, another grueling set of auditions at The Classic, resulting in five comedians securing their place as finalists for the 2011 Billy T Award.

Inspired by and named after legendary New Zealand comedian – Billy T James, the Billy T Awards are an initiative of the New Zealand Comedy Trust, with the aim of ensuring the continued growth of live comedy in NZ.

Coming up fifteen years now, the Billy T Award has been a much coveted honour and launching pad into Kiwi pop culture and comedy folklore. Previous winners include, Paul Ego; Jan Maree; Ben Hurley; Dai Henwood; Justine Smith; Sam Wills; Steve Wrigley; and last year’s winner Rhys Mathewson – the youngest ever recipient of the Billy T Award.

The 2011 nominees were selected on their proven comedic ability; talent; dedication; current form and potential, and will be judged on all aspects of their 2011 Festival show. Final judging will take place at the annual Last Laugh ceremony, as part of the 2011 NZ International Comedy Festival. The winner will take home the hallowed Yellow Towel (and a $5000 cash grant from the New Zealand Comedy Trust).

The five nominees for the 2011 Billy T Award are:

- Nick Gibb – Hailing from Palmerston North “Nick Gibb has a knack for finding genuinely hilarious material in the unlikeliest of places” – The Guardian UK.

- Joseph Harper – Moving from Christchurch to Auckland to study, Joseph "willfully, and successfully, subverts the audiences presumptions...a supremely gifted performer and one of the leading alternative comedians working today." - Brendon Green, Coup De Main.

- Urzila Carlson – Immigrating from South Africa 4 years ago, we now claim her as our own and for good reason, she won the 2008 NZ Comedy Guilds ‘Best Newcomer Award’.

- Nick Rado – Just back from living in the UK where he received 4 star reviews in Edinburgh. “On-its-toes comedy and crowd-pleasing buffoonery at its best” – Threeweeks.co.uk, Edinburgh Festival 2008

- Cameron Murray – He’s been referred to as Wellington’s most ‘cerebral’ comic and was crowned National Raw Comedy Quest Winner in 2008.

ends

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