Student Blogs

We caught up with Anthony Butler, Talent Representative for Off the Kerb, who are working with Paramount Comedy on the Funniest Student competition.

We asked him about the competition, how things went last year and thoughts on the 2008 edition.

What is the Funniest Student competition?
The Funniest Student competition is designed to promote and provide a platform for new comedy talent from the UK’s student community. It’s part of Magners Paramount Comedy On Tap, which is a network of more than 150 university comedy shows at numerous student venues across the UK, and is produced by ourselves at Off The Kerb Productions in association with Paramount Comedy.

Where did the idea of the competition come from?
Comedy On Tap started back in 2002 and as the network started to establish itself we began to look at ways we could expand on the regular shows in a way which could bring the wider student community together. Open Mic nights have long been popular with students and one thing that both Off The Kerb & Paramount Comedy have always been keen to do is encourage new comedy talent, so taking that a step further and launching a contest of this kind seemed a natural progression.

You held your first nationwide competition last year, how did that go?
It went really well. The final itself featured 5 very strong contestants; I think myself and the other judges - Kathleen Hutchison, Paramount Comedy’s Head Of New Comedy, and comedian Robin Ince - were surprised at how high the standard was. What was great about the competition too is that it seems to have provided a starting point for the finalist’s careers; particularly last years winner Hannah George who has since begun to create a name for herself on the stand-up circuit.

So you’re looking forward to this year’s competition then?
Yeah. We’ve had a good response from applicants this year, but the deadline isn’t until 25th February, so anyone who wants to enter has until then to do so. This year’s final should be great too – Patrick Monahan is once again booked in to host proceedings, whilst If.Comedy (formally the Perrier Award) winner Brendon Burns will be doing a headline set for us. I’m looking forward to what I’m sure will be a fantastic night.


Applications for Magners Paramount Comedy On Tap Funniest Student 2008 will be accepted until Monday 25th February. For more information or to apply please visit www.paramountcomedy.com

The final will take place on Monday 10th March at The Comedy Store, London. To apply for guest list tickets please e-mail press@paramountcomedy.com

To read more about Hannah's reaction to winning last year's Paramount Funniest Student Competition click here.

And finally ... from Adrian MacKinder

I am a regular on the stand up circuit and I agree this is a really good idea. I recommend anyone who thinks they're funny to enter. It's such a competitive business, these competitons are a really rewarding way of getting your talent noticed by the industry. This one is worth entering as Paramount is so high profile and the panel of judges are also of a high calibre, last year they had Jonathan Ross agent among the judges!

I went along to watch the last final and apart from the fucking brilliant opportunity to play at the Comedy Store in London, the winners got the chance to develop ideas for Paramount as well as high profile gigs set up. Last year's winner, Hannah George has become a very good friend of mine and she'll no doubt agree with me when I say that it really helped her get stuck in to the comedy circuit - and I'm not even getting paid by her to say this! Here's the link to enter this year's competition: http://www.paramountcomedy.com/live-gigs/comedy_on_tap/funny.aspx

The facebook group Student Comedians has been getting a few testimonials on the Paramount Comedy Funniest Student competition. So, here's what they're saying.

1) From Hannah George!

Hello one and all,

Just thought I'd start a little thread to suggest entering this years Paramount Comedy Student Comedian of the Year Comp. I won it last year and it was fooking wonderful. I would seriously advise anyone to enter (so long as you're a student and have about five minutes of material!), pop over to the paramount comedy website to find out more; www.paramountcomedy.com. I entered on a whim last year and it gave me such a fantastic boost! Getting to play at the comedy store on my 10th gig was bloody marvelous....People bought me drinks all night....I think I gave myself alcohol poisoning...I got home...laughed for a bit...then promptly passed out. It was a very romantic evening.

Enter it. xx

Hannah George posted this comment on our Facebook group over the weekend. I'm checking out the details and will get back with some more info asap.

Hello one and all,

Just thought I'd start a little thread to suggest entering this years Paramount Comedy Student Comedian of the Year Comp. I won it last year and it was fooking wonderful. I would seriously advise anyone to enter (so long as you're a student and have about five minutes of material!), pop over to the paramount comedy website to find out more; www.paramountcomedy.com. I entered on a whim last year and it gave me such a fantastic boost! Getting to play at the comedy store on my 10th gig was bloody marvelous....People bought me drinks all night....I think I gave myself alcohol poisoning...I got home...laughed for a bit...then promptly passed out. It was a very romantic evening.

Enter it. xx

Still only one comment in. Got a funny third line to add to this? Let us know!

A dog barked (Conway Wigg) ... so loud that his tail turned blue (anonymous) ...

Also scroll down the page to check out our Monday interview - this week with Hannah George.

1)Why did you decide to take part in last year's student comedian competition?

Well, I’ve never won anything in my life. At school, sports day was just a ritual humiliation and the lottery has so far failed to provide those “big money balls” it always promises.

So I entered the competition, without giving it a second thought really, convinced I wouldn’t hear anything back. At the time I’d only done a handful of gigs. I sent a video of one of my gigs in to Paramount Comedy and someone down the line liked it!

2) Describe the final night?
The final night was awesome. The Comedy Store is such an amazing venue to be able to play, particularly as it was only my 13th gig. My gig the night before that was on a stage made out of a wood pallet in the roughest pub I’d ever been in. I wouldn’t be surprised if you could have ordered a pint of testosterone at the bar. Anyway, basically it was such a pleasure to do a gig at the Comedy Store. And then to go on to win was just fantastic. It was also great to get some feedback from the ‘Judging Panel’ of Paramount Comedy, Off the Kerb and comedian Robin Ince. So, after the gig I think I drank about 9 gin & tonics in a row, stumbled about and spoke nonsense to anyone who would listen. I felt like me Nan. It was a brilliant night.


3) Who is your favourite comedian and why?
That’s such a tough question as I adore so many comedians for so many different reasons. My all time favourite would probably be Woody Allen. Or Spike Milligan. In terms of female comedians I love Sarah Silverman at the moment. In terms of circuit comedians I saw some great shows in Edinburgh this year, Stephen K Amos, Pappys Fun Club and James Dowdeswell to name a few.

4) How has your stand up career been going since you won? Performed in any famous venues?
Winning the competition definitely gave me a boost! The competition really did wonders for my confidence; it was so nice to have someone other than my Mum tell me I might actually have some potential at something. I’ve been gigging regularly all across the country since winning the competition, having won the competition it seems to give promoters more confidence in booking me, which is handy. I feel I’ve come on in leaps and bounds since the competition and having the opportunity to play at the bigger venues has been really nice, like the Komedia and The Glee Club.

5) Any other student comedians you rate?
Definitely, there are so many fantastic student comedians out there. I really rate Richard Bond, who was another finalist at the competition. He’s a very funny creature. It’s kind of difficult to say which “student” comedians I rate as I’m not sure who on the circuit is a student and who isn’t….

6) What would you say to any student who may be thinking about taking part this year?
Do it. Winning the competition has made such a difference to me this year. The final was SO much fun. (Yes, so fun that it constitutes capital letters), it’s a great opportunity to be seen by Paramount Comedy and Off the Kerb and definitely helps to set you on your way on the comedy circuit. Do it, do it, do it.

I've been in touch with Hannah George who won the Paramount Comedy On Tap Funniest Student 2007. She's agreed to share some tips so watch this space.