A review of Alex Kitson: Now Look Here, Fringe 2026

EDITOR’S NOTE: Extra digital editing put into this header image background of Alex Kitson. Who does that? Who takes the time to put a digital landscape collage with subtle cloud fade elements and cut-and-paste landscapes that still look wrong but maybe also slightly artsy (and maybe neither if you’re not looking hard enough)? Bronwen, that’s who.

Alex Kitson has a remarkable ability to make the ordinary funny. In the Big Yurt at Hoots, he delivers an hour that feels energetic, conversational and completely at ease.

What struck me most was how naturally Kitson commands the room. There is a confidence to his performance that makes even his more chaotic moments feel deliberate, and from the beginning it was clear I was in for a very enjoyable hour.

Comedy

Kitson has a real way with words. His jokes often start with something completely ordinary before heading somewhere you wouldn’t necessarily expect, and I found myself laughing at both the premise and the direction he took it in.

His anecdotes are particularly well crafted. He can spend time building up a story, seemingly going off on a tangent, before bringing it back to a punchline that makes the earlier details suddenly make sense. Despite the amount of material he gets through, the hour never feels short of ideas.

There’s also a conversational quality to his delivery that makes the comedy feel effortless. He’s not simply standing there delivering one joke after another; it feels more like you’re listening to someone who has an endless stream of thoughts and somehow manages to turn them into a very funny hour.

Performance

What impressed me most was how commanding Kitson is on stage. He openly admits that he can be easily distracted, and on the night I saw him there were interruptions that could easily have thrown another comedian off their rhythm. Kitson handled them remarkably well, finding his way back into the material without allowing them to derail the performance.

That ability says a lot about his confidence. Even when things aren’t going exactly to plan, he remains in control of the room. There is a slightly chaotic energy to his delivery, but underneath it is a performer who clearly knows what he’s doing.

Originality

For me, this is where Kitson really stands out. He seems to notice things that other people don’t. The situations he talks about are often recognisable, but his observations give them a different perspective, making them feel both familiar and completely his own.

That’s a difficult balance to achieve. Comedy can be relatable without being particularly original, or original without giving the audience much to connect with. Kitson manages to sit somewhere in between. I recognised plenty of what he was talking about, but I wouldn’t necessarily have thought about it in the way he does.

It gives the show a distinctive voice and makes it easy to understand why his style has attracted so much attention at the Fringe.

Final thoughts

I came out of Now Look Here knowing I’d just watched one of the strongest comedy sets I’ve seen at this year’s Fringe. Kitson is an engaging performer with a distinctive perspective, and the combination of his writing, delivery and ability to handle whatever happens in the room makes for a thoroughly entertaining hour.

I wouldn’t quite push this to five stars, but I came away thoroughly entertained and already interested in seeing what Kitson does next. If you’re looking for smart, observational comedy delivered by a performer who feels completely at home on stage, Now Look Here is well worth your time.