Edinburgh Fringe 2026
John-Luke Roberts: What I Talk About When I Run About, Talking
Genre: Comedy
Venue: Monkey Barrel 4
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
A breathless, brilliantly chaotic hour that hurtles through death, human connection, neuroses and the absurdities of everyday life.
Review
John-Luke Roberts runs onto the stage and from that very moment, time inexplicably speeds up.
Everything operates at the double. He is a fast talker and a frequent digresser, which, in the best possible way, spins us through a whistle-stop tour of his mind via one of the fastest hours of comedy you are likely to experience. Take this as a huge positive, because although you might fear it would be hard to keep up, Roberts is a master of keeping the audience on track and completely hooked in. His material is rich with observational detail and intricate neuroses that you will recognise, either within yourself or in those around you, be they friends, lovers or even our day-to-day interactions with relative strangers.
His raucous ruminations arrive and disappear again at whip speed as he riffs on the meaning of human connection: what binds us, what we collectively fear, what a collective even is and why it matters. It is here that his training as a clown really shines through; there is a consistently cheeky glint in his eye and an instinctive ability to hold the room, checking in to ensure he is gleaning every possible laugh from a situation.
What I Talk About When I Run About Talking is ultimately a comedic (and at times a surprisingly meaningful) hour about death and the many humorous, strange and often flippant ways in which we, our families and wider society choose to frame it.
His intelligence and breadth of knowledge are evident throughout. To wring comedy from the work of famous psychiatrists for example, first requires a genuine understanding of their ideas.
As an added bonus, his brilliantly absurdist poems leap out of show quite unexpectedly, like a breaching Manta Ray, merrily jolting us out of any sense of getting too relaxed with his comedy style.
Roberts is an intelligent but delightfully scatter-brained rambler, taking us on a wonderful journey through his world, as viewed via an OCD-infused lens. The mark of a truly excellent conversational comedian is making the audience believe huge sections of the show are being tangentially invented on the spot. Yet the beautifully timed callbacks within What I Talk About When I Run About Talking that cleverly compound jokes from much earlier in the hour, reveal the meticulous craftsmanship beneath the apparent chaos.
Brevity and levity in equal measure. John-Luke Roberts creates an outrageously entertaining show, from his brilliantly chaotic mind, delivered with precision, vulnerability and genuine wit.
