In their 17th year, the Musical Comedy Awards, sponsored by WeGotTickets, returned to Bloomsbury Theatre on Saturday night with a chock-a-block roster of 12 up-and-coming comics taking the stage, wittled down after multiple rounds of heats.
Winner of Best MCA Newcomer 2025 Roops started off with a rap about foraging, encouraging us with a catchy chorus to ‘Know our shrooms’. Paired with captions on the big screen behind, it felt like being dropped inside a reel, karaoke-style – joining in encouraged. ‘Stand to the right’ followed, a rap about the always infuriating underground.
Our first finalist of the night Al Nash, suited and booted, kicked us off with a bang by singing ‘Cry Me a River’, showcasing his talent for ballads. Calling to stop the track to sing a different song about love, his own love story, with a Swan – Nash’s reveal that he was a wedding singer/best man was a well timed and well crafted punchline, and the added Waitrose bag of props a nice touch.
Next up we had Glaswegian comic and talented guitarist Zara Gladman encouraging us to stop overthinking with her song: ‘We’re all going to die anyway’; a morbid delight. Justice will be served when we can haunt our enemies. In the song about trolls, Gladman deftly incorporates tech, wittily showing us her coping mechanism that takes the sting out of each comment – Jorge cooks a subpar hunter’s chicken, for example.
Up next, Paras Patel instantly won over the crowd with a cleverly timed joke about the first time he saw another penis. Less comedy songs and more spoken comedy set against a melodic guitar, Patel’s perfectly timed one-liners had the crowd in pieces, and deservedly won him joint 3rd place of the night. More highlights include Patel’s grandma’s views on interracial couples, which spurred some well received crowd work.
Abi Sharp followed, her pianist talents and self-deprecating nature showcased in a comedy rendition of Mama Cass’ Dream a Little Dream of Me, replaced with ‘This dick pic is the worst I’ve seen‘. Laughs were heightened as we discovered Sharp’s parents were in the audience.
Irish comic Eoghan Collins was up next, confidently delivering spoken gags followed with musical punch lines, often in the form of short sharp musical riffs, which proved effective. Highlights include Collins hearing his upstairs neighbours in bed, and while turning the volume up watching porn, accidentally staying connected to Alexa.
Jack McMinn was next, with a self-aware song about the trials and tribulations of being a musical comic. Dextrous on the keys, McMinn gives off a slapstick, panto-esque style, but surprised and delighted with tongue-in-cheek lyrics. Sometimes absurd and never serious, McMinn followed with a song impersonating Elvis Presley washing a tupperware. McMinn’s set landed him second place of the night.
Comic double act Shots At The Dragon were next, with an incredibly slick 7 minute set, deservedly securing them title as Winners of the MCAs 2025. A refreshingly unique and original set that takes place in two time zones, the duo mixed clips of their future selves interviewed about their worst performances, with energetic on stage performances of their quick-witted, upbeat songs. ‘Down the Mines’ was a crowd favourite, as was auto-tuned crying down the mic during their second track. Impeccably timed and high energy throughout.
Holly Spillar followed next, with a Kate Bush style set, that had Spillar dextrously combining her voice, the audiences’ voices, and a loop pedal to create songs accapella. Spillar’s style is comical and haunting, in the first song asking us, (rightly) why is the punch-line ‘Your mum’ funny?
Jonathon Oldfield was next, in character as a man obsessed with architecture from the 1960s, with songs about romantic relations with beloved buildings. Oldfield’s skills as a theatre actor shine through here, in the confidence and quality of his created quirky character. The Lava lamp song was very well received.
Aussie comic Sarah Gaul followed, polished and smooth in her comic delivery and equally strong in musical talent, Gaul deservedly took joint 3rd place of the night. Energetic and animated, highlights include the ‘Break up email to her ex’ song, cleverly written with corporate jargon we love to hate, securing her as a crowd favourite.
Joe de Costa was up next, literally kicking us off as he ran through the audience attempting to kick the audiences’ legs, guitar in hand. Reminiscent of Flight of the Conchords in style, the highlight for me was de Costa’s song about his best trait; being a good listener.
Finally, Alex Prescott finished off the set, with high energy improvised songs, with strong call backs to prior audience participation. Prescott has insurmountable happy energy, and his final song rounding up all acts of the night was perfectly placed as final spot.
Our headliner of the night was Jazz Emu, whose 70s style jazzy songs were characteristically quick, unique, and a celebration of the silliness of the English language. Effective use of multimedia elevated the tracks, a particular highlight was the song about the thought process behind creating the word ‘pineapple’. Beautifully simple observations, masterfully executed.
