Since 2002, every year of the Fringe has seen Britain’s greatest student comedians come together in full force, to prove their worth and battle to be crowned Chortle champion at the Chortle Student Comedy Award Final. Previous alumni have tallied up to make for a long list of big-name comedians such as Iain Stirling, Tom Rosenthal, and Joe Lycett. On Tuesday 18 August, this year’s competition took place in Pleasance Courtyard, and of course The Student was there to watch Britain’s up-and-coming comedians.
Hosting the night was Fringe connoisseur and award-winning comedian Mark Watson, who warmed up the tightly packed audience before welcoming Isaac Tompkinson. Though plagued with the first slot of the night, Tompkinson was confident on the stage, remaining calm and collected throughout. His unwavering middle-aged man persona was funny, and he delivered that stiffness to a T.
After him came Will Finney who paired more traditional-style jokes with a flipbook of hand drawn shapes, which he humorously described. Though a quieter set, Finney cleverly added drama by switching up his voice, engaging the crowd.
Third contestant, and second med student of the night, was Fran Best. Focused primarily around her experience on placement in hospital, her performance was charming and relatable. Furthermore, her audience participation and off-the-cuff jokes were incredibly impressive.
Following was Adam Ernest Pickard, who started with about 20 “hellos” as he “like[s] to say hello to everyone in the room.” With a nerdy-ish presence, accent, and silver jacket included, his show and character were so cohesive you could see him having his own sit-com. The sense of ignorance this included, alongside a killer Arnold Schwartzeneger impression, left the audience cackling.
Rushing onto the stage next, donning a party hat and colourful get-up was Kathy Rivett. With a more clown-like style of standup, she was perfectly disorganised, a rather difficult oxymoron to achieve. Full of impressions and energy while darting across stage and up to the front row, she was a hurricane of humour.
“Have you heard the rumours?” asked James Perham as he took the mic. The rumour in question, is that he’s made of yeast, thus, he’s claiming all the beer, obviously. Alongside this, he ran through a variety of topics from AI, to his cat-flap testing career, to the two-man bobsleigh, with a bold, consistent delivery.
Last but quite literally not least, was Eva Peroni, performing on home turf, as a student at the University of Edinburgh. Visibly at home on the stage, Peroni’s comedic strength was evident from the get-go. The audience laughed freely at her pun perfection, ludicrous accents and overall relatable humour.
Across the hour there was a wonderful array of student talent, bursting with funny and inventive comedy. Each of the seven contestants proved their place in the final and should be proud of the performances they delivered; I’m sure this isn’t the last we’ll see of them.
After a dramatic drumroll from the crowd, Chortle’s editor Steve Bennett announced the results, with Eva Peroni the winner and Adam Ernest Pickard runner up of the Chortle Student Comedy Award 2026. Having delivered brilliant sets, both certainly deserved the accolade. Furthermore, with Eva Peroni being the first Scottish winner and studying in Edinburgh no less, all in all, it was a very exciting final.
If you want to learn more about Eva Peroni, you can see her standup show Jungled at 16:40 every day until 30 August in Gilded Balloon Teviot (more information and tickets here).
Image by Joe Hollingworth, provided to The Student as press material.
