WHAT I TALK ABOUT WHEN I RUN ABOUT TALKING: John-Luke Roberts to Return to Edinburgh Fringe

Fringe Legend and acclaimed alternative comedian John-Luke Roberts returns to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with his first brand new show in four years: What I Talk About When I Run About Talking.

Following a pulmonary embolism and a subsequent mental health crisis, John-Luke Roberts found himself confronting death head-on. As a member of the Berlin-based art group, The Association for the Palliative Turn, he has channeled his health scare into creating work which aligns with palliative principles of acceptance. As a result, What I Talk About When I Run About Talking is a surprisingly poignant, hilarious, and unapologetically accessible exploration of the human condition and how little we understand about what is happening in our own bodies.

Set to be his purest stand-up hour to date, this Gaulier-trained clown is stripping back his usual avant-garde theatrics as he leans in the unexpected direction of mainstream success, seamlessly blending traditional stand-up and storytelling with his absurdist sensibilities and poetry. Undeterred by the serious subject matter, John-Luke Roberts is aiming for a relentless hit rate of 'Five to six laughs a minute, so at least three hundred total, which is pretty good actually.'

John-Luke Roberts is a UK-based artist, comedian, actor, director, and writer. He has written and performed ten solo shows at the Edinburgh Fringe and internationally, including the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and the Adelaide Fringe. He was named one of the 50 funniest comedians of the 21st Century by The Telegraph and in 2024, The Skinny & Fest magazine awarded him the Besties Fringe Legend Award for remounting all ten of his solo shows in repertory.

As a writer, his credits span theatre, radio, and TV, including co-writing The Goodies 2020 Audio revival and the UK Gold sitcom Bull starring Robert Lindsay and Maureen Lipman. In 2022, he won the BBC Audio Comedy Award for Best Sketch Comedy for his popular podcast Sound Heap. His acting resume includes Paul Feig's Last Christmas, Brassic, and Spymonkey's clown show Hairy. A sought-after director, he has helmed tours for Myra Dubois (Be Well, Cosmic Empath) and Josh Glanc's Edinburgh Comedy Award-nominated Family Man.

LISTINGS INFORMATION

VENUE: Monkey Barrel 4

DATES: 5th - 30th August (except 18th)

TIME: 2:10pm (1hr)

AGE GUIDANCE: 16+ (Guideline)

TICKET PRICES: £8 - £14

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