Melbourne comedy festival reveals its 2018 best newcomer shortlist | Including the British-based creator of Gary Starr

Melbourne comedy festival reveals its 2018 best newcomer shortlist

Including the British-based creator of Gary Starr

 London-based actor Damien Warren-Smith has been shortlisted for best newcomer at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.

He has been recognised for his alter-ego Garry Starr, a spoof of an arrogant thespian who parodies all genres of theatre. The show has been directed by Cal McCrystal, who has previously worked with The Boosh, Spymonkey and on  One Man, Two Guvnors, where he was physical comedy director.

Warren-Smith is a member of the Plague of Idiots physical comedy team, along with fellow graduates of the Philippe Gaulier clown school near Paris.

The best newcomer award is only open to Australian and New Zealand acts, but although born in Scotland, Warren-Smith was raised down under and first studied acting in Sydney.

Also shortlisted are New Zealander Paul Williams; Indigenous comedian Steph Tisdell; Danielle Walker, who previously won the Australia-wide Raw new act competition, Lewis Garnham, who was a  finalist in the same contest, and Nadia Collins, who performed the silent show Bloody Virgin Mary.

The winner will be announced early Saturday morning along with other awards, including the prestigious  Barry for best show.

Nominated for that award are Natalie Palamides, Anne Edmonds’s alter-ego Helen Bidou, Tim Key, Celia Pacquola, Lano & Woodley, Alex Edelman, Sam Campbell and Rose Matafeo.

Click to read reviews for newcomer prospects Paul WilliamsGarry Starr, Danielle Walker, and Nadia Collins.

Published: 17 Apr 2018

Live comedy picks

We see you are using AdBlocker software. Chortle relies on advertisers to fund this website so it’s free for you, so we would ask that you disable it for this site. Our ads are non-intrusive and relevant. Help keep Chortle viable.