Comedy Bloomers launched LGBTQ+ New Comedian of the Year competition in 2019. The competition is a nationwide search for LGBTQ+ talent across the UK in 2019. Sydney May was crowned the winner of Comedy Bloomers’ LGBTQ+ New Comedian of the Year 2025, following a glittering Grand Final at the iconic Clapham Grand on Tuesday 10 June.
Hello Sydney. Congratulations on winning LGBTQ+ New Comedian of the Year 2025. When did you first start out as a stand-up comedian?
Thank you, QX. I joined an Ultra Comedy course in September 2023 and did my first gig at the end of that course in November 2023, on the same Sunday I also ran the Brighton 10K… Didn’t know they’d both happen on the same day when I signed up! I raised money for Cancer Research doing both ventures, so I thought good cause, no expectation, nothing to lose.
Do you remember the audience reaction at your first gig?
Without tooting my own horn, I remember that it was pretty good. Granted it was a very supportive audience who all knew it was probably everyone’s first ever gig, but as soon as people laughed I was hooked.
What is the motivation behind making people laugh?
What could be better? I’ve always been “The funny one” of the group, I’ve always striven to make people laugh, whether consciously or unconsciously. My way of dealing with most of my challenges in life has been to laugh at them, to take the mick out of myself, encouraging others to join in with the joke. I always loved the feeling of making my friends laugh, and I guess it’s just grown. Now the sound of a whole room full of people laughing because of something I’ve said gives me the best buzz imaginable.
Have you ever bombed?
I’ve done two very tough gigs, in big rooms where everyone is just too spread out, where the laughter doesn’t spread so it has no energy, and those gigs are tough and not enjoyable for me, but I can’t say I’ve bombed with a great crowd who were giving up all their laughter for everyone else. I’ve obviously been extremely lucky.
How has your style of comedy developed over time?
It’s hard for me to say. All I can say with certainty is I’ve practised. I signed up for every new material night going throughout the whole of 2024 and just practised. People tell me my timing, delivery and voice have improved, but some of these improvements have not been conscious decisions as much as responses to what works best and what doesn’t quite land with the audience. Not being able to see, I listen to everyone else’s delivery, language, tones and styles of speaking and I adapt based on what I find funny, and what seems to go down well with an audience. I’m also trying to consciously write now which is quite new. I have to remember now, every time something makes me laugh, or I think of something I think other people might laugh at, out comes the phone. I have a note-taking app I only use for comedy now. Learning to actually consciously write comedy is a new thing for me but I’m feeling the pressure to come up with new material now.
How important for you is winning LGBTQ+ New Comedian Of The Year?
It’s been massive. It’s already felt like a whirlwind. It’s one thing to make small audiences laugh, or for friends and family to tell me I’m funny, they’re all biassed, but winning this award, and the stunningly good comments I got from the judges at the final which left me genuinely speechless is so affirming. I’m not always good at accepting compliments, I’ll brush them off, but this is harder to brush off. I’ve also spent my life being admired just for being able to live my life, walk down the street or put my shoes on the right feet as someone who can’t see. For me, it’s an awkward thing because to me it’s not amazing. I’ve never been able to see, so the fact that I can function without sight is just life for me. I get why it’s a marvel to those with sight but it’s not something I’ve ever wanted to be admired for. If you were in the same position you’d be just the same. It’s a truly wonderful and new feeling to be celebrated for comedy. For being good at something, not just good at it for someone without eyes. It’s got me tentatively thinking, “Am I really good at this? Could this be a career? Do I really have to admit that my dad was right when he said I’d surely be famous after my first gig? Please don’t make me actually have to say he was right!”
What advice do you have for those LGBTQ+ comedians thinking about doing their first gig?
Do it! If you think you have it in you, think you’d love to feel that feeling of standing on a stage and making people laugh, just give it a go. Don’t let a dream go untested, even if it’s not a dream and you’d just like to do it for a laugh, that’s what I did, that’s all I thought I was doing. I went to the first Ultra Comedy session and honestly I nearly didn’t go back, but then I remembered what they say, you know, “you regret the things you don’t do, not the things you do,” and that was the only reason I went back. For me it came at a time when I needed something. Wasn’t sure what it was that I needed but I needed something new, and this was it. I dread the thought of what I’d be doing with my life now if I hadn’t completed that course and found out that I’m actually good at this. Do not get to your old age and have something nagging that you always wish you had done but never did.
The Comedy Bloomers’ LGBTQ New Comedian of the Year grand final will be broadcast on streaming channel OUTFlix on 31st July.
Congratulations to runners-up: Sean Barnham and Dominic McGovern.
