Awards open to all genres

These awards are open to the majority of genres and programme categories - please see the details of each award for entry specifics. More awards which are open to most genres and categories can be found under the Diversity, accessibility and inclusivity awards.

The Amnesty Freedom of Expression Award honours an Edinburgh Festival Fringe theatre production of excellent artistic merit that builds understanding and raises awareness about human rights in an inspirational way.

2017 winner

#JeSuis - Aakash Odedra Limited - ZOO Southside

2017 shortlist

Adam - National Theatre of Scotland - Traverse Theatre
Borders - Gilded Balloon and RedBeard Theatre present… - Gilded Balloon Teviot
Salt - Selina Thompson Ltd - Northern Stage @ Summerhall
The Fall - Baxter Theatre Centre at the University of Cape Town - Assembly Hall
What If I Told You - The Mayers Ensemble and West Yorkshire Playhouse - Army @ The Fringe in Association with Summerhall

2017 highly commended

Woke - Play the Spotlight Theatre - Gilded Balloon Teviot

Brighton Fringe Award for Excellence – in association with Brighton Spiegeltent

Applications are now open for the Brighton Fringe Award for Excellence in association with Brighton Spiegeltent, inviting one production to perform at Brighton Fringe 2018. The winner will receive a free registration to take part in Brighton Fringe 2018, along with £500 towards production costs and a favourable deal on venue hire from Brighton Spiegeltent.

Brighton Fringe is the largest fringe festival in England and takes place in May. No artistic judgement or selection criteria are imposed on participants, enabling the development of both new and established work to attract fresh audiences, press and promoters. Brighton Fringe will take place from 4 May – 3 June 2018.

With 3 seasons under Brighton Spiegeltent’s belt, 2017 was their biggest programme yet – 190 shows and events from 80 companies! Doing what they do best with alternative cabaret, music, contemporary circus, theatre, dance and family shows.

2017 winners

The Prophetic Visions of Bethany Lewis – Laura Elmes Productions – Underbelly
Hot Gay Time Machine – Hot Gay Time Machine – Underbelly

Entry information
Brighton Spiegeltent are delighted to be able to offer an opportunity in either of their 2 spaces.

Brighton Spiegeltent – A European mirror tent, used as traveling dance halls, bars and entertainment salons since they were created in the early 20th century. It has a bar, booths around the sides, 2 fire exits, toilets on site, dressing rooms, disabled access, in house technicians, changeable staging & seating arrangements and a seated capacity of 330.

Brighton Spiegeltent: Bosco – Built in 1909, it combines great intimacy with a considerable capacity for an audience. A very fine setting for childrens theatre, musical acts, stand-up comedians, puppet theatre and more. It has a bar on site, toilets, dressing rooms, disabled access, in house technician, raked seating, changeable staging arrangements and a capacity of 175.

All genres are invited to apply, but must be suitable for the venue spaces (as above); please note that quiet theatre pieces and one man shows may not be suitable for The Bosco Theater as its next to the on-site SpiegelPub and the noise bleed can be distracting.
Productions will be shortlisted by a panel of arts industry practitioners, who will select work based on the above and the following considerations:
- The production has not been performed in Brighton before
- Companies are available to perform during Brighton Fringe 2018, 4 May - 3 June
Shows are welcome to apply by completing the application form and sending a press release about the event. Please note that there is no commitment from Brighton Spiegeltent or the judges to see all shows put forward.

Applications have now closed.
The shortlist will be announced at our workshop Get Your Brighton Fringe On! which will take place on 22 August 1.30pm at Fringe Central.

The winner will be announced at the Scotsman Awards Ceremony on 25 August during Edinburgh Fringe 2017.

The deadline for entries was Friday 28th July 2017.

Recognising that sometimes not all five-star shows are equal, Broadway Baby's iconic Bobby statuette is awarded to the best of the best shows at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Broadway Baby covers more shows than any other publication in Edinburgh, and whilst - on average - only 8% of the performances it sees are considered worthy of five stars, that's still approaching 200 productions in any one year.

2017 winners

The Laramie Project – The Italia Conti Ensemble – theSpace on Niddry St
All We Ever Wanted Was Everything – Middle Child – Roundabout @ Summerhall

Entry information

All shows awarded five stars by Broadway Baby are automatically considered for The Bobby Award; first by the judging team and then those shortlisted are seen by a senior member of the editorial team. There are no set number of Bobby Awards, however in previous years an average of just five trophies are handed out over the entire festival. The Bobby is recognition that you have created something truly special.

'The Mervyn Stutter 'Spirit of the Fringe' Awards Along with Mervyn's regular 'Pick of the Fringe' show, the 'Spirit of the Fringe Awards' (aka ‘The MERVs’) are this year celebrating their 26th anniversary which makes them one of the oldest Awards on the Fringe.

Seven Awards are given in this special ‘Spirit of the Fringe Awards’ show which is always the final show each year (this year, Sunday 27th Aug 2017). These Awards acknowledge and celebrate the talent, hard work, pluck and sheer doggedness demanded of performers from all genres on the Fringe to make a show a success.

Winners of a MERV are chosen from the 140 amazing shows that have been highlighted during the regular 2017 'Pick of the Fringe' showcases, so it is fair to say that the winners are the crème de la crème. Given this, it could justifiably be argued that this is the best show of the whole ‘Pick of the Fringe’ run. The 'Spirit of the Fringe' Awards were created to recognise those who show commitment in the face of little support or funding or those who have consistently provided audiences with quality entertainment over the years. There is no application process as the awards are issued at the judges' discretion.

For more information go to www.mervspotfringe.com

2017 winners

Christine Bovill Paris – Christine Bovill / Salt 'n' Sauce Promotions – New Town
Matt Panesh - Freedom…! – Matt Panesh / PBH's Free Fringe – Banshee Labyrinth (Venue 156)
Descent – A Moment White Productions – Gilded Balloon at Rose Theatre (Venue 76)
Sleeping Trees at the Movies – Sleeping Trees – Pleasance Dome (Venue 23)
Jo Caulfield: Older. Wiser. Smarter. Meaner. – Jo Caulfield / The Stand Comedy Club – The Stand Comedy Club 5 & 6 (Venue 319)
Wereldband: Släpstick – Wereldband – Assembly George Square Theatre (Venue 8)

Presented by Edinburgh Festival magazine ThreeWeeks, the Editors’ Awards go to the ten things that the ThreeWeeks editors believe made that year's Festival extra special. Winners can be people, plays, companies, venues or even whole festivals. The awards are presented on the last weekday of the Fringe.

One of the widest criteria of awards at the Fringe, as the award can be won by people, shows, companies, venues, or even whole festivals. No set criteria other than extra special to the festival season.

No application process, decision made the ThreeWeeks Editoiral team.

www.threeweeksedinburgh.com

2017 winners

The Nature Of Forgetting
Rob Auton: The Hair Show
At A Stretch – Jordan and Skinner – Scottish Storytelling Centre
Pianologues (Will Pickvance) – Will Pickvance – Summerhall
Ian Smith: Snowflake – Bound & Gagged Comedy – Underbelly Med Quad
Hot Brown Honey – Briefs Factory – Assembly Roxy
Prom Kween
KNOCK KNOCK – Niv Petel – C venues – C primo
Barry Crimmins – Barry Crimmins / Lakin McCarthy / The Stand Comedy Club – The Stand Comedy Club
Edinburgh Renaissance Band – The Edinburgh Renaissance Band – artSpace@StMarks

Presented in association with the Festival Theatre

Since their inception in 1996, The Herald Angel Awards have been an integral part of the Edinburgh Festival scene, celebrating and rewarding the diverse range of talent from the various festivals including the Edinburgh International Festival, The Edinburgh Festival Fringe, The Jazz & Blues Festival and The Edinburgh International Book Festival.

The awards have been bestowed upon some of the world's most recognised names such as Hollywood star Alan Cumming and Irish playwright Enda Walsh. Herald Angels are awarded to the best of the festivals’ performers, venues and backstage crew who have managed to impress The Herald's distinguished panel of arts critics. In outstanding cases, the panel may award an ‘Archangel’ - the highest honour presented at the ceremony, while ‘little Devils’ are awarded to those who have overcome adversity, or in the true tradition of the festival, have demonstrated a 'show must go on' attitude.

2017 winners

Archangel prize: Sigma - Gandini Juggling - Assembly Hall
Adam - National Theatre of Scotland - Traverse Theatre
Sophie Willan - Branded - Bound & Gagged Comedy, UTC Artist Management and Contact - Pleasance Courtyard
Misha's Gang - Russian String Orchestra - theSpace @ Surgeons Hall
Atlantic - A Scottish Story - Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Assembly Hall
No Show - Summerhall
Lauren Pattison: Lady Muck - Live Nation in association with United Agents - Pleasance Courtyard
Lear - John Scott Dance - Dance Base
Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story - 2b theatre company with Aurora Nova - CanadaHub @ King's Hall in association with Summerhall
The Little Devil Prize: Just Like The Movies - Kingdom Theatre - Greenside @ Infirmary Street
The Little Devil Prize: The Gardener - Cumbernauld Theatre - Summerhall

Developed for the benefit of artists, the sector and audiences, the Total Theatre Awards have over the last two decades, blazed a trail of recognition for independent artists and companies creating innovative, artist-led theatre and performance.

Resisting too narrow a definition of the term ‘total theatre’ the awards focus on artists and companies leading innovative work beyond the classical cannon and new writing – working within the fields of devised theatre, live art, visual performance, mime, puppetry, physical theatre, experimental theatre, dance, clown, circus, street, immersive, outdoor, site specific performance and more.

2017 winners

Total Theatre & Farnham Maltings Award for an Emerging Company / Artist - Five Encounters on a Site Called Craigslist
Total Theatre Awards for Physical / Visual Theatre - Sigma
Total Theatre & Jacksons Lane Award for Circus - Fauna
Total Theatre & The Place Award for Dance - Hope Hunt and the Ascension into Lazarus
Innovation, Experimentation & Playing with Form - Palmyra
Innovation, Experimentation & Playing with Form - salt.
Innovation, Experimentation & Playing with Form - Our Carnal Hearts
Judges Discretionary Award - Slap And Tickle

Entry information
Artists, venues and interested parties can register shows to be considered for the Total Theatre Awards. Work by artists and companies at various stages of their professional development will be considered, however we do not consider work by student companies.

Registration for the 2017 Total Theatre Awards will open in mid June. The deadline for completed registration forms should be forwarded by Monday 31 July 2017. Artists and Companies cannot register shows after 9am on Monday 31 July 2017.

Theatre Awards are assessed and judged by two peer panels including presenters, programmers, critics, producers, academics and artists from the UK and overseas who collectively engage in a rigorous and robust two stage process:
- Following a series of Assessment meetings and a Shortlisting meeting the Total Theatre Shortlist of around 30 shows will be announced on Thursday 17 August. The Total Theatre Short List is created through a thorough democratic dialogue, based on Assessors’ evaluations and Senior Industry Advisors’ recommendations.
20 judges will then see the shortlisted shows 18-23 August and announce their decisions at the Total Theatre Awards ceremony on Thursday 24 August. The Judges and Awards team reserve the right to award Judges Discretionary Awards to exceptional shows that open after 17 August.

Gail Bryden, founder of JustBe Botanicals, and our collaborator on the award-winning Fringe chocolate organises an award for her personal favourite show on the Fringe. The shortlist and winners are detailed below:

2017 winner

Secret Life of Humans – Pleasance Courtyard

2017 shortlist

Gary Lamont: Dropping the Soap – Gilded Balloon at the Rose Theatre
Jane Doe – Assembly George Square Studios
Stuart Goldsmith: Like I Mean it – Liquid Room Annexe/Warehouse

Menu

Amnesty Freedom of Expression Award

2017 winner

2017 shortlist

2017 highly commended

Brighton Fringe

2017 winners

The Broadway Baby Bobby Award

2017 winners

Mervyn Stutter Spirit of the Fringe Award

2017 winners

The ThreeWeeks Editors' Awards

2017 winners

The Herald Angel Awards

2017 winners

Total Theatre Award

2017 winners

JustBe Loved Award

2017 winner

2017 shortlist

Thank you!

Menu

Amnesty Freedom of Expression Award

2017 winner

2017 shortlist

2017 highly commended

Brighton Fringe

2017 winners

The Broadway Baby Bobby Award

2017 winners

Mervyn Stutter Spirit of the Fringe Award

2017 winners

The ThreeWeeks Editors' Awards

2017 winners

The Herald Angel Awards

2017 winners

Total Theatre Award

2017 winners

JustBe Loved Award

2017 winner

2017 shortlist

Fringe Newsletters