The director of Edinburgh's most prestigious comedy award has admitted the industry remains too "tough" for women to reach the top. Nica Burns made the candid assessment as this year's Edinburgh Comedy Award shortlist was unveiled with just two female comedians among eight nominees for the main prize.
American comic Sam Jay, musical comedy star Katie Norris and trans performer Sam Nicoresti are among the contenders for this weekend's honour. The other nominees include Canadian double act Creepy Boys (Sam Kruger and SE Grummett), plus English stand-ups Dan Tiernan, Ed Night, Ian Smith and John Tothill.
Industry barriers persist
Burns acknowledged the Edinburgh Comedy Awards "could do better" with gender balance on the main shortlist. She pointed to specific structural challenges that make comedy careers particularly difficult for women, especially the constant touring required to build a following.
"If you are going to make a living doing comedy you are travelling all the time," Burns explained. "It is a much harder life for female comedians when they have a family. In her show, Katie Norris talks about the fact that she is 35 and doesn't have kids. She has freedom to do what she likes."
Progress in emerging talent
Despite the main shortlist imbalance, the best newcomer category tells a different story. Ayoade Bamgboye, Elouise Eftos, Kate Owens, Molly McGuinness and Ada Player are all in contention, representing a majority female lineup that Burns sees as encouraging progress.
"Having more women on our newcomers list makes other people feel that they can go into comedy," she said. "I think we are seeing progress in the young generations."
Historical context reveals change
The awards have come far since their 1981 inception, when Cambridge Footlights won with a team including Emma Thompson, Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie. Only two female comedians - Jenny Éclair and Laura Solon - won the main prize before Bridget Christie became the third in 2013.
Since then, Hannah Gadsby, Rose Matafeo and Amy Gledhill have all claimed the top honour. Burns noted that more than 30 per cent of Fringe comedians are now women, approaching 40 per cent.
Industry evolution continues
The announcement comes after Scottish comic Zara Gladman highlighted the lack of female representation at this year's Fringe, asking how many women aged over 40 audiences had seen perform. More than 500 shows were eligible for the awards, with judges watching over 1,200 hours of comedy across the festival.
Sam Bryant, chair of the judging panel, said the comedy landscape is expanding with audio platforms now playing a huge role alongside traditional live performance in building comedians' careers.
Sources used: "Herald Scotland", "The Scotsman" Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
