Holly Walsh talks 'Popcorn Comedy'

Holly Walsh has said that she tries to promote the funniest material on the internet with her Popcorn Comedy evenings.

The comedienne founded the club night with online producer Jon Petrie and the project returns to the Edinburgh Festival this month for several shows at the Pleasance Dome.

Walsh told DS: "The filmmakers come along and see the bits people laughed at and what kind of response their stuff got. We just want to really promote the best of the internet and comedy short films with a mixture of live acts.

"The beauty of comedy is that you can think of a joke and it might not necessarily be suitable for standup or sketches, which are the traditional way which people package their jokes. In the age of the internet you can go out and make your own thing.

"It's offered a whole new forum for people to make comedy. Gone are the days when people write a pitch and send it into a producer and they go, 'We like this, go and write a script'. I think people can really take it into their own hands."

Asked for her feelings on the festival, Walsh added: "I really look forward to Edinburgh, but I've never done an hour, so I probably have a romantic view of it!

"I'm trying to do an hour next year, and I think that that will completely change my view. But doing Popcorn's really nice because there's so many comics in one town, you can get all the best people to do it night after night."

Confirmed acts for Popcorn Comedy at the Edinburgh Fringe are as follows:

• August 5, 6, 7 - Rob Rouse, Simon Munnery
• August 12 - Sarah Millican, Josh Howie
• August - 13 - Josie Long, Cardinal Burns