UK-based American comedian Will Franken has caused a kerfuffle with the nominations for his inaugural Defining The Norm Awards which have been announced in Spiked online today. The magazine is the awards sponsor. The awards, wrote Franken in a recent article, will be "celebrating the safety, sameness and sycophancy so integral to the world’s largest and most expensive comedy festival."
Franken has received criticism from a number of comedians following publication. BTJ will not publish comments in case they are not intended for the public, but if you put Will Franken into you Facebook search box you may get a flavour.
Franken says that shows will be "judged on conformity to industry standards, marketable status, adherence to shared political opinion, and audience pandering. Special categories for shows consisting of safe targets, stifled free speech, and lack of original or perceptive messages will also be recognised, in addition to most marketably correct and expensive flyer and poster combination."
Here are the nominations in full, explanations by Franken.
The Mild Inconveniences of My Life Award
This award honours the practice of elevating the mundane for the big stage.
Seann Walsh: One for the Road
Katie Brennan: Katie Brennan’s Quarter-Life Crisis
James Acaster: Reset
Daniel Sloss: So?
Daniel Sloss: So? (the late shows)
The Gilded Memoir
This award recognises the craft of expanding regular club sets with narcissistic autobiographical anecdotes.
Katy Brand: I was a Teenage Christian
Stuart Mitchell: Dealt a Bad Hand
Adam Rowe: Bittersweet Little Lies
Eleanor Conway: Eleanor Conway’s Walk of Shame
Sofie Hagen: Shimmer Shatter
The I Am a Woman Award
When all else fails, look to your gender for inspiration for your show. This award celebrates women who think of themselves as women first and artists second.
Woman Up Improv Show
Chella Quint: Adventures in Menstruating with Chella Quint
Luisa Omielan: What Would Beyonce Do?/Am I Right, Ladies?
Kate Smurthwaite: Smurthwaite on Masculinity
Samantha Pressdee: Sextremist
The I Am Gay Award
Lynne Jassem: From Como to Homo
The Gayest Thing You’ve Ever Seen
Scott Agnew: I’ve Snapped My Banjo String, Let’s Just Talk
Stephen Bailey: Nation’s Sweetheart
Russ Peers: Bad Gay?
The Nationality and Ethnicity Award
Awards committees are always thirsty for ethnic diversity, and some performers are happy to quench their palates. Everybody was born somewhere and everybody has a race. This award celebrates those comedians who go skin-deep in celebrating these basic facts.
Tez Ilyas: Made in Britain
Australia: A Whinging Poms Guide
Archie Maddocks: Shirts vs Skins
Peter White: Straight White Male
Nazeem Hussain: Legally Brown
The Guardian of Liberalism Award
Ethnic and gender diversity is fine for the Fringe, but diversity of political opinion is decidedly taboo. This award celebrates the uniformity of political outlook that is the hallmark of today’s comedy bubble.
Bilal Zafar: Cakes
Chris Coltrane: Socialist Fun Times
Joe Wells: 10 Things I Hate About UKIP
Nish Kumar: Actions Speak Louder Than Words, Unless You Shout the Words Real Loud
Aatif Nawaz: Artificial Intelligence
The Landed Aristocracy Award
Comedians rail against the monarchy, but when it comes to the reigning royalty within their own profession, they’re not averse to genuflecting. This award honours comedians with the disposable time and income to use the Fringe as an open-mike for various ‘works in progress’.
Stephen K Amos: Work in Progress
Katherine Ryan: Work in Progress
Russell Howard and Steven Williams: Work in Progress
Josie Long: Work in Progress
Mae Martin: Work in Progress
The Helpful Association Award
With thousands of shows at the Fringe, it’s important to pull out all the stops when it comes to getting bums on seats. Sometimes a dash of historical or pop-culture references on a poster may just prove the trick. This award celebrates the marketing strategy of linking a better-known name to a lesser-known name.
Star Wars: A Dating Odyssey
The Simpsons Taught Me Everything I Know
Shit-Faced Shakespeare
Ross Hepburn Is Beetlejuice’d
Elliot Steel: Netflix’n’Steel
The Malleable Name Award
A show by any other name just wouldn’t be pun. Er… I meant fun! Maybe James Joyce wouldn’t have had such a hard time getting Ulysses published if he had called it Freedom of Joyce. This award honours those performers with flexible enough names to feature as titular puns for their shows.
Susie Youssef: Check Youssef Before You Wreck Youssef
Hal Cruttenden: Straight Outta Cruttenden
Jay Handley: You Can’t Handley the Truth
Joe Lycett: That’s the Way A-Ha A-Ha Joe Lycett
Sharma Sharma Sharma Sharma… Comedian!
The Smoke and Mirrors Award
This award celebrates ordinary comedy club nights with just enough of a gimmick to get folks through the doors.
Set List: Stand-Up Without A Net
Joke Thieves
Sketch Thieves
Fast Fringe
For Robin Williams: A Benefit Gig in Aid of Mind and SAMH
The Best Newcomer Award
This award celebrates newcomers to the festival and the shows they bring with them.
Barry Cryer and Ronnie Golden
Arthur Smith: Mindlessness – A Beginner’s Guide
Simon Munnery and Friends: 30 Not Out
Stewart Lee: Content Provider
Nicholas Parsons’ Happy Hour
These are the awards for performers. For industry awards click here and scroll down. It's a long list...
The awards ceremony will commence at 11.30am on the morning of 28 August near the Old Calton Burial Ground. From there, a slow and sombre procession will make its way to the Dugald Stewart Monument on Calton Hill where the presentation of awards will begin at midday. This is a free event. All are invited to join.
