★★★★
Will Owen’s outfit for his newest stand-up show Looking Fab at Fifty is questionable: a shirt and tie isn’t usually paired with sports shorts, but don’t let that put you off. It’s a highly entertaining hour full of Owen’s own experiences of coming out (or lack thereof, he laments, because he was always stereotyped as “sounding gay”) and awkward dating stories.
His set is very well thought out. He launches straight in, telling us about the time he phoned into BBC Radio 2 trying to dedicate the Sugababes ‘About You Now’ to his mum, to be told by a producer they had already played that, so could he request ‘Bang Bang’ by Jessie J instead. This segues nicely into him asking the audience about their musical preferences, to then talking about his own experiences growing up. As a teen, he thought he was incredibly unique, but when he ages to an adult and meets other gay people, he realises his interests and character traits are fairly common. Queue an identity crisis, where he ends up copying his partner. His narrative is funny, and avoids straying into self-deprecating or sympathy–seeking territory.
His dating stories are equal parts cringeworthy and hilarious. When a neighbour sent a suggestive picture to him on a dating app, the only thing he could think to reply was a plea for him to move his rubbish out of the shared hallway. Dating apps are a source of entertainment for him rather than a genuine attempt to find a partner, and as soon as his matches suggest meeting up, his phone is thrown across the room and the person is ghosted. Once his friend finally persuades him to go on a romantic weekend with a man he met online, he goes off him immediately when the subject of their future is brought up, and in a cruel joke by the universe, they both end up locked in the bedroom they’re sharing. It’s a funny story that’s bound to relate with anyone who’s ever been guilty of swiping mindlessly through dating apps!
Owen has the crowd in the palm of his hand. While he called out one side of the audience for not laughing (they are the “straight” side, he reasons), it certainly didn’t look that way: everyone seemed to be in stitches. He doesn’t interact much with the audience, leaving more room for his stories, but he is a natural at crowd work, asking couples about how they met, and incorporating their responses into later jokes. He is a master at weaving earlier gags into later anecdotes, which makes his show feel very cohesive.
From the start of his set, Owen comes across as a very sweet man. He almost seems a little hesitant at first, but he doesn’t need to be. The crowd clearly loved him, and he fed off their energy, growing more confident as it progresses. The performance I saw was sold out, which is testament to how good a show he puts on.
Will Owen: Looking Fab at Fifty will be performed at Assembly Roxy – RoxyBoxy until 24 August as part of Edinburgh Fringe.
Words by Ellen Leslie
Support The Indiependent
We’re trying to raise £200 a month to help cover our operational costs. This includes our ‘Writer of the Month’ awards, where we recognise the amazing work produced by our contributor team. If you’ve enjoyed reading our site, we’d really appreciate it if you could donate to The Indiependent. Whether you can give £1 or £10, you’d be making a huge difference to our small team.