Edinburgh Fringe comedy review

If you were listing the identities that go into a typical Fringe comedian, Steffan Alun might have a full house: bisexual, a bit of nerd, possibly autistic… 

Advisedly, he’s not followed the herd in placing identity at the heart of his sophomore show, even if his themes – which are very lightly applied – include the fact we can never see ourselves as others see us, and the need to find somewhere where we can be accepted for who we are. In his case that seems to be the pub quiz, for others it may well be this very comedy show, given what a warm and welcoming performer this genial Welshman is.

Whenever Alun professes to ‘hate’ something or someone, it’s more like mild irritation. He’s the sort of comic who says he doesn’t mention his wife much in his stand-up as he actually quite likes her – shock! – and does not want to hold their relationship up to ridicule. He’s occasionally opinionated, but it comes from a position of such naivety it’s more sweet than confronting.

Self-effacingly, he jokes that his debut last year was the culmination of 14 years on the circuit. For show No 2 he had to knock it out in just 11 months… however he’s still come up with more than a few delightful wordplay-based jokes. 

For a Fringe show, Windows can feel slight, with the only explicit through-line involving him wondering if he has falsely remembered how many bedrooms his childhood home had, which is key to his self-image of being working-class. The picking of one’s tribes recurs a little, too, whether it’s on the truth about biker gangs or those who take their fashion style from The Matrix.

But Everyman  Alun is obliging and empathetic – a trait, we learn here, that humans evolved before properly understanding their own feelings – who wants to make his tribe chuckle in the warm embrace of acceptance. Job done.

Review date: 27 Aug 2026
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Reviewed at: Hoots @ Apex