Josh Elton is a Swansea-born and Cardiff-based stand-up has over nine years and well over a thousand gigs under his belt on the UK comedy circuit. He’s written for BBC’s Stand up Sesh and performed on Welsh language TV S4C. Since earning the title of the Welsh Unsigned Stand-Up of the Year Award in 2017, he has performed right across the UK including the Edinburgh Fringe, Radnor, Neath and Leicester Comedy festivals as well as at top comedy clubs including The Glee Club, Just the Tonic, Last Laugh, Kill for a Seat and more.

Josh is returning to the Fringe with his first full-length show, ‘Away with the Fairies’. We spoke to Josh about the show, Welsh audiences, and enduring the simmering resentment of the Edinburgh locals.

Can you tell us about ‘Away with the Fairies’?

‘Away With the Fairies’ is my debut show. It’s the funniest stories from my life, bashed into one hour. It tells the story of a weird little outcast finding his way into comedy and then a three-week period where everything goes wrong, disaster gigs, my car getting lifted up by a bollard, being publicly humiliated on BBC News and very nearly letting a man drown because I was scared of fairies. It’s action packed and it’s funny as hell. 

For those unfamiliar with your work, how would you describe your comedy style and approach to performance?

You know when an eight-year-old starts showing off at a dinner party and when everyone laughs you can tell it’s the happiest they’ll ever be? Imagine that, with back pain. I’m high energy and I work my bastard socks off at every gig. I get quite sweaty if that’s what you’re into, you pervert. It’s always fun and I’m always nice, even if I’m hungover. 

You’ve performed in English and in Welsh. How did you modify your performance between the languages? Are there different rhythms, tone, even material you would adapt?

Some Welsh audiences are WEIRD. They come out to ‘support the language’ but they haven’t laughed since 1982. And they’re pernickety about the language. Half of the time I’ll have someone heckle to correct my grammar. I’ve never done a weekend club in Liverpool and had someone stand up and go, ‘Hey mate!! I think you mean whom’. Other than those types it’s a blast. I get to be an outsider because I’m second language Welsh. I can do material about things they find normal that are completely insane. 

You’re clearly deeply interested in the structure of a comedy show, including playing with fact and fiction as part of the performance. Techniques like exaggeration and hyperbole are common tools in a comedian’s arsenal, but it’s far rarer for that to be acknowledged on stage. How was the writing process for such a show?

I would hate myself if I did a show and I didn’t do my best material. That’s like if you went to see Pete Doherty and he didn’t do… drugs. So then to make that structured and meaningful, I looked at those bits and I thought, this bit took ages to perfect, so why did I put that much time into this bit? Even if it’s a lie I tell, why this lie? Why this joke? And then I realised, it’s the story of your bloody life, of course it’s meaningful. It tells the story autobiography of me getting into comedy and starting to tell embarrassing truths about myself.

Lots of jokes are obvious lies. We know that. If they were real a ‘doctor doctor’ joke would be a flagrant breach of GDPR. I play with that a bit and I like to think people know what’s real and what isn’t. Then at a preview I had a woman say “are you really from Swansea?” so maybe my form of self-expression is completely pointless. Still, I’m really happy with it and I reckon it’s funny and clever. 

‘Away with the Fairies,’ is your debut full-length Edinburgh show. What are your hopes and expectations for the month?

You know when you’re running and you tell yourself, ‘If I get to that next lamppost my team wins the World Cup’, or it’ll save my partner’s life? You know that isn’t real, but it helps you to create artificial targets based on fiction? Well I’m going to win Best Newcomer. ISH and regular awards. 2026: Live at the Apollo. 2027: Strictly Come Dancing, first round exit, I don’t come off well. 2028: Arena tour. 2029: rehab. 2030: go broke. 2031: I start a right wing podcast I don’t believe in for the money. 

Apart from your show, is there anything you’re particularly looking forward to (or dreading) about the Fringe?

I’m looking forward to flyering in the rain. I’m looking forward to doing 15,000 steps a day, drinking and still losing weight. I’m looking forward to seeing my poster next to 10,000 other posters and thinking, ‘That was several thousand pounds well spent’. I’m looking forward to the low rumbling resentment I’ll pick up from randoms in Edinburgh who have their commute invaded by an army of offbeat middle class narcissists for a month. I’m looking forward to playing Russian roulette with which of my friends has a literal breakdown and praying to God it’s not me. My back already hurts.

Beside ‘Away with the Fairies’, can we expect to see you performing elsewhere during August?

I’ll be everywhere. I’m planning to do as many guest spots as I can manage.

Are there any other acts at the Fringe that you would recommend audiences see?

I recommend you see only me. Then go home and think about what you’ve done.

‘Away with the Fairies‘ is at Hoots@The Apex – Hoots 4 from Thu 31 to Mon 25 Aug 2025 at 20:00