Eric Rushton is slowly but surely making a name for himself in stand-up. In 2023 he won Channel 4's Sean Lock Comedy Award, which brought him to a wider audience. After an impressive 2024 Edinburgh he is back at the Fringe with a new show entitled Innkeeper.

If you like your comedians relatable and regular look away now. Rushton, originally from Bury, Manchester, is king of the dweebs. A northern Napoleon Dynamite who is so nerdy he is cool. In his track suit and specs he looks like a lost member of Hot Chip. But when it comes to assured off-the-wall confessional comedy he is very much hot shit.

Innkeeper takes us back and forward from Rushton's first acting job in the school nativity. Needless to say it was not the starring role, but this bit part set him on the showbiz path. There have been plenty of bumps in the road though. He talks about being romantically rejected and how it has haunted him ever since. He is dogged by depression but tries to resist medication. 

This might not sound like obvious material for a hit comedy show, but Rushton skilfully weaves his ups and downs together, seamlessly slotting in comic asides and actual proper gags alongside insights into his sometimes bleak life. Could things have gone differently he wonders, or was he always destined to be an outsider? 

Rushton might seem like a natural born loser in life's race, and he tells plenty of stories here where he is the self-deprecating butt of the gag, but as a stand-up comedian he is shaping up to be the cream of the alt-comedy crop. He has an appealing sideways view of life – which is maybe why he won the Sean Lock accolade – but is also supremely confident onstage. He might joke about things not going well for him with audience members giving him a hard time, but make no mistake, he is the person in the room in complete control.

Until August 24. Tickets and info here.

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