Edinburgh Comedy Award winner heads to Teesdale

The breakout star of the 2014 Edinburgh Festival is on his way to the North East for the very first time.

Alex Edelman’s stand-up show, Millennial, scooped the Best Newcomer award at the world’s largest arts festival last summer.

And the US stand-up will bring highlights of the show to Barnard Castle as part of another blockbuster comedy night at The Witham on Saturday 7 February.

The Boston-born comedian began in comedy eight years ago at the age of 15, and found frequent stage time at the area’s biggest club, the Comedy Connection, before moving to New York.

In The Big Apple he became a regular at many of the city’s clubs while simultaneously attending NYU, a school he just graduated from with an honours degree in English.

Aussie stand-up Felicity Ward, one-liner comic Peter Brush and Chortle Student Comedian of the Year Jamila Maddix complete the line-up at Teesdale’s Funny Way To Be Comedy Club.

Peter Dixon, of organisers Funny Way To Be Comedy Club, said: “For this show we handpicked a group of comedians who are working at the top in their area. It has a real international flavour.

“For a rising star USA comedian, selected as the Edinburgh Best Newcomer, to make his North East debut at our venue is a real thrill. Australian Felicity Ward is someone I’ve seen totally wow audiences at the Edinburgh Festival.

“Peter Brush is someone I’ve loved to see perform since I saw him when I was one of the judges in the final of a comedy competition, and Jamila Maddix is recognised as the best student comic on the national comedy circuit.”

Tickets for Funny Way To Be’s show on 7 February are on sale now from funnywaytobe.com, priced £10.