Stand up comedian Celia Pacquola been named the winner of the Amused Moose Laughter Award 2014, out of over 100 other hopefuls, for her Edinburgh Fringe show 'Let Me Know How It All Turns Out'.
Celia Pacquola commented on her win: “I’m really stunned, thrilled and excited. It was very unexpected and I’m looking forward to trying to get my pointy, dangerous Moose through airport security.”
Celia will share £5,000 prize money with People's Choice Award winner Chris Turner for the development of their comedy careers, a commercial standard DVD recording and, of course, a shiny moose trophy each. The runner up was Trygve Wakenshaw’s Kraken.
The other Amused Moose Laughter Award finalists, were BEASTS, Loretta Maine, Lou Sanders, Pierre Novellie, Ria Lina, Rob Deering and Tom Toal. The Amused Moose Final was hosted by Mark Dolan with a special guest performance from 2013 finalists Jonny & the Baptists.
A selection of the winners and finalists will perform as part of the Amused Moose Comedy Awards Showcases at the Soho Theatre this October.
Funny Women's founder, Lynne Parker,was invited to be one of the judges. "it was a real honour to be on the industry panel for this year’s Amused Moose Laughter Awards," says Lynne. "This is the first time in 11 years that I haven’t been directly involved in producing any shows at the Edinburgh Fringe, so it was a wonderful opportunity to see a wide range of comedy from sketch groups, character and cabaret acts, musical comedy and stand up.
"There were four incredibly talented women in the final 10 acts for the industry award – Lou Sanders, Ria Lina, Loretta Maine and Celia Pacquola who won. I was particularly delighted that a well-crafted stand up show took the main prize demonstrating that there is ultimately no substitute for good material."
