International fine wine merchants and pioneers of British urban winery, bring their years of experience launching award winning and popular cutting edge wines to support the NATYS to keep holding the stage door open for the live comedy’s new wave of variety talent.
Over 100 ‘new acts’ will be auditioned this autumn, at East London’s Rich Mix, from which a New Variety Bill of 14 acts, selected by an audition panel, receive a paid booking to perform at the NATYS 2017 Top of the Bill comedy showcase at the Leicester Square Theatre, where a panel of comedy industry VIPs will select the Top of The Bill Act for 2017.
Over 30 years, the annual NATYS has established itself as the country’s most important spotlight for the comedy industry, providing an independent platform for emerging comedic artists from variety’s wide spectrum of performance disciplines, from stand-up to speciality. It encourages professional development and supports the artist’s’ transition from the invaluable and essential voluntary open mic and new act competition stages to the established fee-paying live comedy circuit.
Entrants must have been performing for at least one year, have a 20 minute routine, from which they can extract a tight 5 minute audition piece, and have recommendations from two established promoters/agents/venues. Previous finalists do not qualify.
Acts that have recently appeared on NATYS bills have, while being publicly acclaimed, also indicated a return to the importance of the variety act aspect of live comedy performance. Alasdair Beckett-King, Emma Sidi, Rosie Revan and Alice Fennell, Benjamin Bello, Spencer Jones and, NATYS 16 Top of the Bill, Bilal Zafar are among a new wave of NATYS acts now playing on the live comedy stages
NATYS 2017: Spotlight Nights audition shows
Free | 7:30pm | Mondays: 26 September | 10 October | 21 and 28 November 2016
Rich Mix, 35-47 Bethnal Green Road, London, E1 6LA
NATYS: New Acts of The Year, Top of The Bill Showcase 2017
£15 | 2:30pm | Sunday 29 January 2017
Leicester Square Theatre | 6 Leicester Place | London | WC2H 7BX