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. You can find more awards which are open to most genres and categories as part of the Accessibility, diversity and inclusivity awards.

The Besties

The Besties, or The Skinny-Fest Festival Awards, is a new series of awards running weekly during the Edinburgh festivals in August. Produced in partnership with Capital Theatres, Premier Scotland, The Skinny and Fest magazines, the awards will platform the best work on show this summer, drawing on our review teams’ exhaustive knowledge to celebrate work from across the different festivals.

Winners of The Besties will be chosen each week by the editorial teams of The Skinny and Fest, drawing on their cross-festival expertise to celebrate the best work happening anywhere in the festivals. The weekly awards ceremonies are to be produced by Premier Scotland and hosted by Capital Theatres at the Festival Theatre on Saturday mornings during the festival season.

The categories will reflect the diversity of the magazines’ coverage, with an Outwith award highlighting the best international talent, while the Great Scot will honour work from closer to home.

2024 award winners – week 1

• The Kids Award (chosen by the Fest Kid Critics)
  Garry Starr - Monkeys Everywhere
• The Outwith Award for international talent
  Lou Wall - The Bisexual’s Lament
• Emerging Talent Award
  Kim Blythe - Might As Well Comedy
• The Night Owl Award
  John Norris for Mr Chonkers, Piggy Time
• The Sexy Award for Sexiness
  Penthesilea
• Radgie of the Fringe Award
  Frankie Monroe
• New Writing Award
  The Chaos That Has Been and Will No Doubt Return

Week 2

• The Movement Award
  Mele Broomes for through warm temperatures, Custom Lane (Edinburgh Art Festival)
• The Narrative Award
  Adania Shibli for Against Forgetting, Edinburgh Futures Institute (Edinburgh International Book Festival)
• The Radgie Award
  Piotr Sikora for Furiozo: Man Looking for Trouble, Underbelly Cowgate (Edinburgh Festival Fringe)
• The Debut Award
  Wonder Fools for Òran, Pleasance Courtyard (Edinburgh Festival Fringe)
• [the gender euphoria award]
  Wet Mess for Testo – Here and Now Showcase, Zoo Southside (Edinburgh Festival Fringe)
• The Collaboration Award
  The Giant Company and the Distant Voices Community for A Giant on the Bridge, Assembly Roxy (Edinburgh Festival Fringe)
• The Solo Award
  Yolanda Mercy for Failure Project, Summerhall (Edinburgh Festival Fringe)

Week 3

• The Heart Award
  A Knock on the Roof at Traverse Theatre (Edinburgh Festival Fringe)
• The Inclusivity Award
  Teatro La Plaza for Hamlet (Edinburgh International Festival)
• The Accessibility Award
  The Thera Trust for their Gig Buddies initiative
• The Fringe Legend Award
  John-Luke Roberts
• The Terrier Award
  Eleanor Morton for Haunted House at Monkey Barrel (Edinburgh Festival Fringe)
• The Unsung Award
  The bands and musicians featured in Since Yesterday: The Untold Story of Scotland’s Girl Bands (Edinburgh International Film Festival)
• The Stooshie of the Fringe Award
  The Scottish Government

The Brighton Fringe Award for Excellence in association with Ironworks Studios

Brighton Fringe invites one production from Edinburgh Fringe 2024 to perform at Brighton Fringe 2025. The winner will receive one free registration to take part in Brighton Fringe 2025, £500 toward production costs and a 50% discounted venue hire deal to perform in Studio C, at Ironworks Studios.

Brighton Fringe will take place from 02 May to 01 June 2025. 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. The only criteria for this award is that the production company has not performed at Brighton Fringe previously and that their work will be suitable for Ironworks Studios Studio C.

Located five minutes from Brighton Station, Ironworks Studios is a local event space operated by Brighton Pride CIC with an international outlook, seeking to present high-quality, innovative, inspirational and engaging work to entertain, inform, educate and thereby enrich the cultural life of the city. Studio C is a black-box theatre space with 100 capacity, with a small stage suitable for one-person shows or an ensemble of three or four maximum. Find out more about Ironworks Studios.

The award will be judged by a small team made up of industry professionals, Brighton Fringe stakeholders and staff who are looking for an artist or company of excellence with a show that has not been performed at Brighton Fringe before.

Please submit an expression of interest (via Microsoft form) by 12:00, Monday 19 August 2024.

Shortlisted shows will be contacted in the final week of Edinburgh Fringe to attend the award ceremony, currently planned for Friday 23 August 2024.

2024 winners

• Winner
  • The Ugly Sisters (Underbelly)
• Runners up
  • Chris Grace: Sardines (Assembly)
  • You’re So F**king Croydon (Underbelly)

The Broadway Baby Bobby Award

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 while – on average – only 4% of the performances it sees are considered worthy of five stars, that's still approaching 200 productions in any one year.

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.

2024 award winner

• An Adequate Abridgement of Boarding School Life as a Homo by Choir Boys & Co (Just the Tonic).

DarkChat Awards

On 08 October 2024 the annual DarkChat Awards took place honouring our favourite shows from this year's festival. Visit darkchat.co.uk for more information.

2024 award winners

• Best Comedy
  John Robertson: The Human Hurricane
• Best Music
  Mairi Campbell – Living Stone
• Special Award
  Peaks & Valleys – Seventh Season
• Best Entertainment / Musical / Dance
  Reves
• Best Actor in a Play
  Joe Sellman-Leava – It’s The Economy, Stupid
• Best Actress in a Play
  Madeleine Baghurst – Plenty Of Fish In The Sea
• Best Performance in an Entertainment / Musical / Dance
  Sacha Copland – Anatomy For Accountants
• Best Exhibition
  Living Stone – Mairi Campbell
• Best Play
  The Shroud Maker
• Best Song / Music Performance
  Land Of Lola – Kinky Boots
• Best Venue
  Summerhall
• Best Director
  Roman Khafizov – Reves
• Best Comedy Performance
  John Robertson: The Human Hurricane
• Best Supporting Performance
  Dylan Howells – It’s The Economy, Stupid
• Best Moment
  John Robertson: The Human Hurricane – Pentagle
• Best One-Person Show
  John Robertson: The Human Hurricane
• Best Show
  Reves

The List Festival Awards

The List Festival Awards celebrate the Art, Book, Film, Fringe and International festivals this summer, including the current Edinburgh International Festival and Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Please note: only the awards recognising shows at the Fringe are listed below.

Each winner receives a cash award of £500, and two winners will be heading to the SoHo Playhouse in New York to perform their show.

2024 award winners

• Sit-Up Award for Best Production with a Social Impact
  FAMEHUNGRY, Summerhall
• International Fringe Encore Series Edinburgh Prize
  Weather Girl, Summerhall
• Best show from Adelaide
  Lewis Major: Triptych, Assembly @Dance Base
• Best Show
  Natalie Palamides: WEER, Traverse Theatre
• Spirit of The Fringe Award
  Sam Gough, Summerhall's Chief Executive

Mervyn Stutter Spirit of the Fringe Award

The Mervyn Stutter Spirit of the Fringe Awards (aka the MERVs), along with Mervyn's regular Pick of the Fringe show, celebrated their 30th anniversary in 2023, making them one of the oldest Awards on the Fringe.

The Spirit of the Fringe 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 all the amazing shows that have been highlighted during the regular 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.

The MERVs for this year's Fringe will be announced on Saturday 24 August 2024. For more information go to mervspotfringe.com.

2024 award winners

• David Eagle: The Eagle Is Candid - Comedy (stand-up, musical comedy)
• Sushi Tap Show 2024 - Dance, Physical Theatre and Circus (tap, comedy)
• Roy Orbison - Music (cabaret)
• Lewis Major: Triptych - Dance, Physical Theatre and Circus (contemporary, classical)
• Dance N'Speak Easy - Dance, Physical Theatre and Circus (hip hop, family-friendly)
• Elf Lyons: Horses - Comedy (clown, physical theatre)
• KAFKA'S APE - Theatre (drama)

The Seoul Arts Awards

Our mission is to celebrate and foster global cultural exchange in the performing arts, transcending language barriers. The Seoul Arts Awards recognises and honours the exceptional talents in various fields, including physical theatre, arts circus, family shows and beyond.

The awards recognise the most diverse and outstanding performers working in non-verbal performance genres, providing them with the opportunity to perform in Seoul, South Korea. The winners of the Seoul Arts Awards will receive a unique chance to showcase their talent in the Republic of Korea, a platform to captivate audiences and leave a lasting impression.

Join us in celebrating the power of performing arts in bridging cultures and promoting artistic excellence on an international stage.

2024 winners

• La Clique (Underbelly)
• Gravity & Other Myths (Assembly)
• Recirquel Cirque Danse (Assembly)
• Bill's 44th (Underbelly)
• Trygve Wakenshaw – Silly Little Things (Assembly)

The Spookies by the Edinburgh Horror Festival

In 2024 we are introducing "The Spookies", a new awards initiative debuting at this year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe to recognise excellence within the horror genre. As the horror genre continues to gain popularity in the live entertainment industry, we are thrilled to have the opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate outstanding performances at the festival.

The Spookies is hosted by the Edinburgh Horror Festival and our aim is to bring attention to the live entertainment side of the horror genre. As the genre continues to grow, we want to be able to help bring recognition to the up-and-coming creatives and their shows.

The winners are decided by a jury seeing the work; however, shows for consideration are both from our own independent searches in the programme as well as self-nomination. (Our goal is to be able to consider as many potential shows as possible.)

Jurors will see work from the Fringe programme from 02 August until 19 August 2024 with the winners are announced at the Spookies on August 21 at 20:55 at the Banshee Labyrinth in the Cinema Room. Nominees will be notified 36 hours before the award ceremony.

2024 award winners

• Best Stage Play
  • Winner: Casting the Runes by Box Tale Soup
  • Runner-up: Birdwatching by Black Bright Theatre
• Best Solo Show
  • Winner: One Man Poe
  • Runner-up: Eleanor Morton: Haunted House
• Best Comedy
  • Winner: The Ritual / The Master
  • Runner-up: We Forgive You, Patina Pataznik
• Best New Writing
  • Birdwatching by Black Bright Theatre
• Best Cabaret / Magic Show
  • Dee Christopher: Psychic Vampire
• Jury’s Awards
  • Experiment Human by Hooky Productions
  • Shadow Necropolis by Mochinosha Puppet Company
• Child's Play Award
  • Buckets of Blood: Fairy Tales Not for Kids
• Best Performer
  • Winner: Corin Rhys Jones as Renfield in Renfield
  • Runner-up: Andrew Lodge as Death in Godfather Death: Grimm Tales
• Best Poster
  • Winner: James Whale: Beyond Frankenstein
  • Runner-up: Birdwatching by Black Bright Theatre

See our website for more information as well as finding the self-nomination form: edhorrorfest.co.uk/the-spooky-awards.

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