JOHN GORDILLO & THE COMEDY ZONE

The Court Theatre
Monday 15th July
Tickets £15

John Gordillo: Thinking is Discouraged

John Gordillo is a Perrier Award-nominated English director and Comedian who has directed shows by the Comedian Eddie Izzard and was the host and co-creator of The RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance), a daily late-night topical comedy show.

"A grown-up comic who combines emotional intimacy with high quality gags” Guardian.
“Brilliant” Scotsman.
“Resolutely acute, relentlessly smart comedy with political hues” Independent.

The Comedy Zone

LUCY BEAUMONT, CARL HUTCHINSON, MATT WINNING & TOMMY ROWSON

Now in its 23rd year, the Comedy Zone at the Edinburgh Fringe has earned a reputation of building some of the greatest comedy talent around. The list of comedians to have started in the Zone include DAVE GORMAN, HARRY HILL, RUSSELL HOWARD, MARK LAMARR, STEWART LEE, SIMON MUNNERY, AL MURRAY, ROSS NOBLE and CHRIS RAMSEY.

This year 's crop are LUCY BEAUMONT (Chortle Best Newcomer), Carl Hutchinson (Magners Comedian of the Year), Matt Winning (Finalist BBC New Comedy Awards 2012) and Tommy Rowson (Winner So You Think You're Funny)...

Lucy Beaumont

Rarely does your jaw drop when you see a new act - Lucy came to our March 'Berkomedy' Festival and blew the audience away. Only the night before she had won the Chortle Best Newcomer award - we very quickly realised why!

Lucy is a hugely talented comedy actress and writer. She was this year's winner of The BBC New Comedy Award, and in August 2011 she was also a finalist in the Gilded Balloon's nationwide stand-up comedy competition So You Think You're Funny? and is currently a nominee for the Leicester Mercury Award. This year Lucy is filming the new series of Live At The Electric for BBC Three, and is developing a show with BBC Radio.

Lucy has performed in various theatre premieres, touring the UK with Hull Truck, York Theatre Royal and West Yorkshire Playhouse. She also has a number of radio credits including being a panellist on The Unbelievable Truth; The Magical Faraway Tree, an Enid Blyton adaptation directed by Johnny Vegas (both BBC Radio 4), and Crush, a 90- minute monologue for which she received a Sony Radio Award in 2001.
She is currently performing on the London stand-up circuit and developing her first solo show to take to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August.

'Devastating comic timing' The Stage
'The next Victoria Wood in the making' Arthur Smith
'The stage Beaumont is a riot!' The Scotsman
'A star is born' Steve Bennett, Chortle

Carl Hutchinson

Those who came to see Chris Ramsey on tour at the Court Theatre in December will recognise Carl. He has been crowned the ‘Magners Pub Comedian of the Year’ and the winner of the ‘Beat the Frog World Series’ competition. He also reached the final of ‘So You Think You’re Funny?’ and been nominated for the Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year award. Carl’s debut Edinburgh show, ‘Acceptable’ was shortlisted for an ‘Amused Moose Laughter Award 2012’, and he will be returning to the Festival this August with an exciting new hour of stand-up, showcasing his own brand of effortlessly charming but characteristically dry comedy.

Other than supporting Chris Ramsey on tour he is also opening for Mick Foley at various dates around the UK.

Matt Winning

Winner of the Hilarity Bites New Act of the Year 2011 and finalist for BBC New Comedy Awards 2012, Matt Winning is one of the most exciting, unique and imaginative new stand-up and character comedians in the UK.  The Scottish comic's eccentric and idiosyncratic act is a whirlwind of ideas, combining an original approach to one-liners, acute observations and shouting loudly. Matt is also one-third of faux-rap group Vocal Point with So You Think You’re Funny winner James Kirk and Chortle Student finalist Richard Gadd. Matt has also written sketches for BBC Radio Scotland and The Comedy Unit.

"Fine and distinctive one-liners in his set, with strange points of reference and clever exposition” - Steve Bennett, Chortle
“Instant laughs” - The Skinny
"Winning offered the complete package: he's got the material, the pacing and the presence" - Gigglebeats

Tommy Rowson

Tommy started performing stand up late in 2010. Six months later he was a finalist in the 2011 Laughing Horse New Act competition and he won So You Think You're Funny  later that year. In 2012 he performed as part of the AAA late night show at the Edinburgh Fringe and was a finalist in BBC Radio 2's New Comedy Award. Tommy wrote, directed and acted in the award-winning short film Arrowman Sam, for which he was Cinemagic's Young Filmmaker of the Year 2005 and was shortlisted for Broadcast Young Talent's Young Writer of the Year award. Since then he has written for Baby Cow Productions, World Productions, and BBC Comedy.

"A distinctive voice. This Welsh weirdo creates a quirky, oddball world – but one with which the rest of us can still easily identify. The anecdotes are full of detailed aside and delivery with perfectly-judged timing" - Chortle. Steve Bennett