Review: Alex Kealy: The Fear, Soho Theatre

Alex Kealy: The Fear is a stand-up hour that is as considered as it is consistently funny. First performed at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2024 and now touring with some adjustments, it is a tightly crafted piece of comedy that rewards both attention and reflection, without ever losing its easygoing charm.

From the outset, Alex Kealy appears modest, even a little nervous. But that is part of his appeal. He is an endearing presence, someone you could imagine being friends with, and this makes the experience of watching him all the more engaging. He does not attack the stage or command the room in the usual stand-up style. Instead, he gently draws the audience in, and before long, we are laughing in rhythm with him.

Much of the material is drawn from his relationship with his wife: a common starting point in comedy. But Kealy takes it in unexpected directions. He is a deep thinker, and his humour often ends up somewhere intellectually or emotionally surprising. Whether musing on domestic dynamics, social anxieties or the fear of death (yes, the title is apt), his jokes are layered and thoughtful, without ever feeling heavy.

Kealy is also strikingly open about his process. He talks about working with a director (Dec Munro) and shaping the material. This meta-thread runs through the show and adds a layer of self-awareness. Far from distancing the audience, it makes the experience feel warmer and more personal. We are not just watching a finished product; we are being let in on how it came to be.

There is some light audience interaction, notably with a couple he asked about their engagement. But it is used only to tee up a longer anecdote about his own. Kealy never strays far from his prepared material, and that is clearly a deliberate choice. He is not a riffing comic or a crowd-work specialist. Instead, he delivers a finely tuned narrative, and the audience is better for it.

The final moments of Alex Kealy: The Fear are particularly memorable and cleverly elevate the hour into something more theatrical. Earlier in the show, Kealy speaks about his imagined afterlife. Then, after leaving the stage, a short film plays, showing exactly that fantasy brought to life. It is smart, funny, and packed with callbacks to earlier jokes (which I will not spoil). The effect is to tie the show together beautifully, leaving the audience with both a final laugh and a renewed appreciation for the care that has gone into the entire piece.

This is not stand-up that is trying to shock or dazzle. Kealy is not flashy. But what he offers is something rarer: a strong, steady hour of intelligent comedy, crafted with care and delivered with sincerity. Kealy may be quietly spoken, but Alex Kealy: The Fear speaks volumes.

Directed by: Dec Munro

The Fear plays at the Soho Theatre until Thursday 26 June 2025.