“I Wanted Everyone to Think I Was Nice, Fun and Normal”: Comic Will Owen on Coming Out and Cracking Jokes

Comedian Will Owen returns to the Edinburgh Fringe with Looking Fab At Fifty, a new hour exploring connection, commitment, and the many ways a 26-year-old can feel ready for retirement. Following a breakout year that included one of 2024’s best-reviewed shows and a sold-out Soho Theatre run, he’s back at the Fringe this August with more sharp jokes, awkward confessions, and lightly ironic life advice.

Looking Fab at Fifty is a brilliantly ironic title for someone who’s only 26 - what made you choose it?

It feels like a magazine headline about someone like Davina or Cat Deeley. I love that light entertainment world and the quixotic language that comes with it, and I thought it captured something, a relevant incongruity between how I see myself and how I actually am. 

Your show blends sharp wit with deeply personal confessions - how do you find the balance between honesty and humour?

To be honest (oop, already started), I think the two are inextricably linked. The more honest you are about something, digging into the feeling underpinning something you do, the funnier it is for people. Universal in the specific vibes.

You had one of the best-reviewed shows of 2024 - did that bring pressure going into this year’s Fringe?

I think not really because it happened so serendipitously and was not something I expected to happen going in. Also the truth is, no one really knows you were one of the best-reviewed shows of 2024 (apart from you guys, of course, which is why you have and always will be my favourite publication in Europe (?))- so it’s a lovely thing to have, but you can’t dine out on it for long!

Has coming out early in life shaped the kind of comedy you create now?

Coming out early is probably a big part of the reason I do comedy, because I wanted everyone to think I was so nice, fun and normal. It definitely is part of the reason I have been drawn to performing. Maybe if I’d come out even earlier, like in primary school maybe, I could have become a lawyer or something. Then I could spend my August holidaying like a normal person, rather than begging strangers for validation.

What keeps you coming back to stand up?

The addictive alchemy of having a punchline you’ve constructed hit in front of a live audience of total strangers. Or something.

If you could give 18-year-old Will one tip about confidence, identity, or love - what would it be?

Hey 18 year old Will. My one top tip about confidence, identity, or love is to be yourself. Hope that helps, love. 

What do you hope audiences walk away from the show thinking?

That it was really well-crafted, funny and a great use of their and my time. And that they’re glad I came out exactly when I did, because it means I made that and wasn’t a lawyer. 

Will Owen is bringing new show ‘Looking Fab At Fifty’ to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this August. For tickets and more information, visit: https://assemblyfestival.com/whats-on/1033-will-owen-looking-fab-at-fifty