A despatch from the home front in the First World War!

Stepan Mysko von Schultze last night became the third finalist in this year’s Chortle Student Comedy Award.

The 22-year-old, originally from Hitchin, is studying for a masters in English literature at Oxford and performed in the guise of a wife waiting at home while her husband fought in the trenches of the First World War.

He triumphed at the first London semi-final last night and now joins Salford Uni’s Jack Dearnley and Warwick's Charlie Humphrey in the final at the Edinburgh Fringe in August. They will also play the comedy arena at the Latitude Festival in Suffolk on July 21-24.

The ultimate winner will receive a trip to Australia to perform stand-up there, thanks to the generous support of the Comedy Lounge in Perth.

Our last two semi-finals are at the Bloomsbury Theatre on Sunday (tickets), and Edinburgh’s Monkey Barrel on Monday (tickets).

After all the heats, a further five wildcards will be selected to go through to the final.

Here’s an extract from last night's winning set:

Published: 25 Mar 2022