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After a quarter of a century of sponsorship support, Perrier is handing over the baton of the most prestigious awards in comedy to Intelligent Finance.
Ever since the Perrier Award was first presented to Cambridge Footlights in 1981 - a stellar line up which included Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Tony Slattery and Emma Thompson - the award has consistently catapulted comic geniuses into the nation's consciousness. The award grew out of a fertile partnership between Perrier and theatre producer Nica Burns, then artistic director of the Donmar Warehouse. From the original London season "Perrier Pick of the Fringe" in the year that alternative comedy was born, the Perrier Award for Comedy has grown to become a coveted national institution with a list of winners and nominees that reads like a who's who of comedy, including Frank Skinner, Eddie Izzard, Steve Coogan, Lee Evans, Jenny Éclair, The League of Gentlemen, Peter Kay, Rich Hall, Laura Solon and many more.
Mark Parker, Managing Director of Intelligent Finance said: "They say that timing is everything in comedy and the timing of this new partnership is nothing short of inspired. Intelligent Finance is a growing company and we look forward to being involved in these prestigious awards as they develop and grow."
The choice of a new a sponsor has come at the end of a long courtship. Nica Burns, Awards Producer and multi-award winning West End theatre producer and owner said: "We have taken a great deal of time and care in choosing our new sponsor. It was extremely important to us to find a company that was the right match to take these fantastic comedy awards into the future. I am delighted to announce that our new sponsor is Intelligent Finance.
She added: "We are fortunate to be adding to the twenty-five year history of the Perrier Awards and expanding the programme to provide more support for comedy talent. Over the years, the Perrier Awards have become known simply as: "the Perriers". In renaming the awards, we wanted to find a name that would quickly become synonymous with the celebration of comedy in Edinburgh and one that would easily be adopted by our audiences. Our new name therefore incorporates three things: Edinburgh, the name of our new sponsor, the word comedy and - taking our cue from the Oscars and the Tonys - a friendly personification. The Perrier Awards are therefore renamed: if.comeddies.
Intelligent Finance's Mark Parker said: "The if.comeddies will become synonymous with humour and wit - not traits you instantly associate with a bank. Here at Intelligent Finance, we celebrate and admire these qualities and are incredibly proud to sponsor these internationally acclaimed awards."
The if.comeddies will be judged by a distinguished panel of journalists, radio and television producers plus members of the public who win competitions in Time Out, The Times and EdFringe.com. Over a two-week period the panel (between them) will see over 250 performances of eligible shows. After the shortlist is announced on Wednesday, 23rd August, the panel sees all these shows a second time with the award being announced on Saturday, 26th August.
E&OE
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