Edinburgh Fringe Picks 2012: panel prize winners

Andrew Mickel23 July 2012

Max and Ivan holding their Edinburgh Comedy Awards

The select few winners of the panel prize who are heading to Edinburgh this summer...

The Edinburgh Fringe brochure is, no matter how you slice it, a thumping information overload of a tome. It's hard to even know where to begin – so we've done the work for you, slicing August's bible up into 30 easy-to-consume guides. From the all-important first hours to Fringe favourites, and from the Free Fringe to the best flyers, these are intended as starting points to help you snaffle out the best shows. They're not exhaustive, instead picking out the shows that caught our eye in given categories, but when your brain can't process another flyer we're pretty sure this is the best way to work out what to see.

We're running these all through July, and today we're doing former Edinburgh Comedy Award panel prize winners. The prize is only a few years old and there's only three winners going this year, so this won't take long...

2011

Max and Ivan are...Con Artists

Pleasance Courtyard, 1-27 August, 15:30

Ed Fringe

What we say

Fresh from their Edinburgh Comedy Awards panel prize in 2011, the sharpest-dressed duo in comedy return with a plot-driven sketch show with a lot of a lot of characters. Expect a bellowing, limb-driven performance (as in, they're good at larking about and using a space well).

What they say

Six ex-cons, one final job. The Hacker. The Smooth Talker. The Mercenary. The Driver. The Architect. And Graham (he does HR, mainly). All are reunited by the Ringleader to conduct one final sting - taking down a sinister oligarch. If we told you any more, we'd have to kill you. Luckily, that's more or less the plot. An epic narrative sketch comedy heist from Max and Ivan. Foster's Edinburgh Comedy Award Winners/Total Sell Out Show 2011. 'Hugely ambitious and impressive' (Guardian). TimeOut Critics' Choice. Directed by Jessica Ransom (Horrible Histories, Doc Martin).

A video

The pair chat with our friends at Com Comedy:

2010

Bo Burnham

No show this year...

2009

Peter Buckley-Hill and Some Comedians XVI

(Also on the Free Fringe list)

The Canons' Gait, 4-25 August, 21:35

Ed Fringe

What we say

King of the Free Fringe Peter Buckley Hill introduces new acts every night. Come as a mark of respect for where all free things Fringe started.

What they say

The show that started the Free Fringe. Four different comedians every night. Guest compere Wednesdays. Here's a haiku. Summer in EH: The sun shines every third year / I'm always indoors. Another: I should plug my show / some say I too should be plugged / into the socket. Neither of these will be in the show. Look, we'll have some jolly good guest comedians, as always. And me, PBH, compering. Can't have everything. Can you?

2008

Every comedian on the Fringe for making it happen

We're not listing them, no.

2007

Arthur Smith

No show this year...

2006

Mark Watson: The Information

(Also on our TV star list)

Assembly George Square, 1-27 August, 19:40

Ed Fringe | Mark Watson

What we say

Information overload is a reasonably common topic for comedy shows, but this is Mark Watson, so his trademark inventiveness, quips and amiability should shine through and bring something new to the table. Also don't miss his Edinborolympics for a few select dates.

What they say

The world has never had such free access to information. Is the internet making us better or worse, smarter or more dependent? Mark Watson, as seen on BBC's Live At The Apollo, Graham Norton, and Michael McIntyre's Roadshow, considered these questions, then stopped considering them long enough to come up with a barrage of jokes, stories and observations. He presents the results of this in a new show. 'A kind of unstoppable funny superhero' (Sunday Times). 'A hilariously funny master of the comedy of mild complaint' (Theage.com.au). Email markwatsonspreview2012@gmail.com for pre-show briefing.

A video

Live at the Apollo. LOOK AT THAT SUIT.