Talent

Alex Kealy

About Alex

Alex Kealy is a stand-up comedian who mixes smart political material with self-deprecation and incisive observations. In his first year of performing, he reached the final of the prestigious So You Think You’re Funny competition and is now a “rising star of the British stand-up scene” (The List).

He has taken five hours of stand-up to the Edinburgh Fringe, the latest being 2022’s Winner Takes All, which was received to packed rooms and critical acclaim. The Daily Telegraph's 4-star review called him "Sharply witty, almost sexily cerebral" while The List raved about his "breakneck pace with surprising turns in eloquent comic’s wonderful new hour" (★★★★) and he was featured in The Times' Top Jokes of the Edinburgh Fringe. He is now taking Winner Takes All on a national tour in March and April 2023, after a sold-out run at the Soho Theatre.

An in-demand joke writer, Alex has written for shows including Mock The Week (BBC Two), Late Night Mash (Dave), The News Quiz, and The Now Show(both BBC Radio 4), and his comedy has been listed in the top Jokes of the Edinburgh Fringe by The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Mirror, The Evening Standard, The Independent, iNews, The Scotsmanand The Huffington Post. He has, too, been tipped by The Edinburgh Evening News as one of “5 Comedians To See If You Like James Acaster”.

In radio work, Alex hosts podcast Gig Pigs with Ivo Graham, where they take fellow comedians - including Ed Gamble, Rose Matafeo, Phil Wang and Lou Sanders - to a live music gig and then talk about it.

He’s a regular at the most prestigious clubs on the British circuit, including multiple weekends at The Comedy Store in London, and other live comedy circuit work includes paid 20s for clubs such as Glee, Avalon, Monkey Barrel, Off The Kerb, Brighton Komedia, Little Wander, Top Secret Comedy Club, XS Malarkey (Chortle Award winning club), Up The Creek’s Sunday Special, Group Therapy, The Good Ship, Gaghouse Comedy, Jericho Comedy, Crack Comedy and Olympic Comedy Sessions.

He’s also supported Ivo Graham, Tom Rosenthal and Shaparak Khorsandi on their national tours.

“A storming show from the whimsical funnyman” – The Sunday Times

The Guardian’s Top 10 Jokes of The Edinburgh Fringe 2019

The Daily Telegraph’s Top 10 Jokes of The Edinburgh Fringe 2019

"Breakneck pace with surprising turns in eloquent comic’s wonderful new hour" ★★★★ - The List

"Sharply witty, almost sexily cerebral…Kealy is going places, but where? He’d go down a storm on Radio 4" ★★★★ - The Daily Telegraph

“This is clever comedy…internal damage from laughing so much” ★★★★ – Shortcom

“If you’re interested in politics, this is a must-see at the fringe” ★★★★ – Broadway Baby

“Fresh, insightful, and original...a great hour of cerebral stand-up” ★★★★ - FringeGuru

“A smart, funny writer…a powerhouse, knocking out those perfectly expressed gags…Rationale cements his reputation as a most useful writer of political gags” – Chortle (Steve Bennett)

Credits