Omar Badawy’s ‘Guided Detour’ is on at the Pleasance at 4.35 – and he’s not happy about it. ‘I keep telling them I’m a 10pm comedian,’ he complains to the audience. In many ways, he’s bang on, and  not just because Omar’s material does little to respect the watershed. The bold subject matter of Omar’s hour, primarily his experience getting accidentally swept up in a Unite the Kingdom march last year, speaks to his grand ambitions. He wants to tackle the hot button issues of the day, unafraid to make jokes that other, more renowned, comics would shy away from. 

At times it seems like he can’t quite believe what the audience is letting him get away with saying. Tangents about his resemblance to Colonel Gaddafi or allusions to a theoretical upper class terrorist called ‘Jihadi Giles’ could easily ruffle a few feathers in the wrong hands. But Omar’s amenable personality keeps you on side. His exasperation at the state of the world and subsequent desire to be left out of mean-spirited debates is comfortingly relatable. There are moments  you can feel he maybe gets carried away, when his confidence quivers, but then he recovers, blindsiding you with a killer one-liner. 

The primary thematic thrust of ‘Guided Detour‘ consists of Omar’s struggles with identity: he has Egyptian heritage but was raised in Cambridge. As such, he feels stuck between two worlds, attacked from people on both sides for not being enough of what they expect from him. This sense of dichotomy pervades his jokes, presenting both sides of an argument and toying with expectations of where he’ll go next, ensuring the  audience stay firmly on their toes. It speaks to Omar’s character that he’s able to find humanity in the hate that he has received. When recounting a time he was called an insult by a passerby, he acknowledges the hurt, but also admires the clever phrasing the man employed. It’s this levity on the more sensitive subjects that gives his humour time to breathe, even when his frantic delivery might not.

Omar is a writer on SNL UK, one of several of his cohort who have landed at the Fringe this year with heady expectations on their shoulders. At times it can feel that Omar’s writing is a touch better than his stand up persona, but you get the sense that soon enough that 10pm slot could be well within his grasp. 

‘Guided Detour‘ is at Bunker One at Pleasance Courtyard until Fri 28 Aug 2026