Nica Burns OBE is a London theatre producer and co-owner with her business partner Max Weitzenhoffer of the Nimax Theatres group (@NimaxTheatres), comprising six West End theatres: the Palace, Lyric, Apollo, Garrick, Vaudeville and Duchess.

Burns moved to directing and producing, co-writing and performing at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe where she has been director and producer of the Foster’s Edinburgh Comedy Awards (formerly Perrier Awards) from 1984 to the present day.

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The Edinburgh Fringe Comedy Awards…

• Why did you start the award and does it still exist in the way it did when you started it? [0 mins]
• Fringe changed your side of the award? [8 mins]
  • Harry Hill
• Do you think there’s too many awards or do you think the expansion of the fringe means there’s more room for more awards? [33 mins]
  • How did your award become known as the most prestigious? [33 mins]
• Who decides who wins? The judges? You? Both?
  • The newcomer award was introduced in 1992, why then? What prompted you to add a new category?
• Can you over analyse a comedy show? [37 mins]
• Women in comedy and how the award has helped the perception of women in comedy. [45 mins]
• In 2013 John Kearns became the first free fringe show to win an award. Do you go to less Free Fringe shows? [13 mins]
  • Has the number of Free Fringe shows meant you need more judges or are you unable to keep up / see everything? [13 mins ]
  • How do you decide which shows to go and see? [13 mins]
• Do you think there’s a limit to how long someone can use an award on their poster?
• Do you think your award has had an impact on more comedians wanting to work towards hour shows or do you think the circuit was going to go that way? [16 mins]
• Do you have any quotas for nominations? [54 mins]
• What would you say to cynical critical people who say that the award, and all awards have an agenda behind them which means they are bias?
• In 2002 the award nominees were all male and the awards were criticized. Now comedy has been and was more so in 2002 a largely male environment so the chances of you going to see more male stand ups than female is high. 
• How much is the Edinburgh Comedy Award “worth” outside of industry recognition and Edinburgh itself? [40 mins]
• What do you have to say to comedians who say “you saw me on a bad day” do you take into account if the audience is a bit off / rowdy etc [13 mins]