^{Picture: Ed Moore}

Describing himself as ‘middle-left’ on the political spectrum, Alex Kealy is a contemplative comedian with an old head on young shoulders. In Winner Takes All, he breathlessly remonstrates with the state of the socio-political landscape as currently occupied (and ravaged) by Big Tech. Google, Uber and Facebook (Meta, if you must) all enter his sights, and he has a simple solution for us all to help turn the tide: abstain.

Of course, Kealy knows it’s not as simple as us all switching off our phones and walking everywhere, and he has real prowess when it comes to examining apparent contradictions such as the disparity between privacy and convenience. He also has some shrewd observations about relationships, many of them borne from his own perceived inadequacies (he recently split from his girlfriend and the break-up clearly still rankles). He’s open about his struggles with mental health, culminating in a wonderfully graphic routine about the side effects of a manic episode he experienced during his last Fringe. And it takes some skill to segue from a story about anal sex into the Tories’ infamous ‘levelling up’ agenda.

Among all the philosophical musings, he has a number of stand-out gags, including the dissection of a complex text message exchange which takes a surprising turn. There’s no let-up in Kealy’s delivery; from his energetic opening, he maintains a breakneck pace all the way through to a finale in which he proposes an ingenious solution to global warming in a manner that’s guaranteed to keep all but the most ardent right-winger on his side. 

Monkey Barrel The Hive, until 28 August, 4.15pm.