Comedy fan's 'once in a lifetime' judging joy

Janet Jackson was a public panellist for the Edinburgh Comedy Awards

A comedy fan said having the chance to be a judge in one of the world's biggest comedy festivals was a "once in a lifetime" experience.

Janet Jackson is a regular face at The Stand comedy club in Newcastle and when she heard the Edinburgh Comedy Awards were looking for judges from the community, her friends encouraged her to apply.

Fast-forward to today and she is "still riding the wave" of excitement of spending the month of August at the Edinburgh Fringe, which concluded last week.

"I have no comedy skills whatsoever and if I can't play the game, I'll be the best supporter I can," the 59-year-old said.

The Edinburgh Comedy Awards are judged by a panel made up of seven professionals who work in the industry and three lay members who can apply to take part.

"You can really immerse yourself in the whole Fringe experience, but show your passion through the judging process," Miss Jackson said.

"It's a once in a lifetime experience. You can be involved in other ways, but public panellists only ever do it once."

Thousands of shows take place in Edinburgh during the Fringe

Miss Jackson had visited the Fringe many times before to see some of the 3,800 shows on offer during August each year.

She said being able to get there easily from the North East meant there were opportunities for people to pop over for a day trip, but being a judge gave her the opportunity to be there "from preview days to the end-of-Fringe parties", witnessing an "electric buzz" spreading around the city.

"One of the things that I love at the beginning is when all the acts start arriving and people are bumping into each other and saying their hellos.

"It's a bit like the first day of term."

She said judging the awards and watching so many shows, quite different from one another, required approaching each one with an open mind, even if she had seen the act before.

"You never whether you're going to walk in the room and that's going to be your next favourite act."

Visitors from all over the world flock to Edinburgh for the many events on offer in August

She also made strong bonds and connections with others involved, not just in the judging but also with venues and staff.

"It is an incredible experience. You really do make friends for life as well as seeing lots of incredible comedy," she said.

"And if you're really passionate about comedy and you have the time to give, it can be long days and late nights, but what you get out of that is incredible"

Miss Jackson was also pleased to see many North East acts performing at the festival, such as Al Stevenson, Kai Humphries, Kelly Rickard and Elaine Robertson.

"Part of the Fringe process is having the opportunity to go and support some of the people that are around the North East comedy scene going up and doing the Fringe.

"That familiar face in the crowd, it's kind of a giving back," she said.

Joe Kent-Walters is among the acts heading to the North East after the Fringe

While the experience has been unforgettable, she said she is looking forward to seeing some of the acts she came across in Edinburgh back home, across the North East comedy venues she loves to attend.

"Comedy clubs tend to be very welcoming of people of all sorts of situations, because that's what comedians are - they're people from all walks of life and you're just accepted as who you are," Miss Jackson said.

Among the Fringe acts that she is looking forward to seeing when they bring their tours to the North East are Joe Kent-Walters, Mike Rice, Connor Burns, Helen Bauer, Liam Withnail and Ria Lina.

She said her involvement in the local scene came over time and, after becoming a regular comedy goer, clubs became her social life.

"You just get to know the people at the club and then you get to know the comedians that are local, then the ones that come up regularly and you just become embraced in this wonderful community."