‘Heroes try to maintain the status quo and villains try to change it,’ says Daniel Foxx, plucking examples from the world of Disney, citing Aladdin’s Jafar as an all-time ‘fave’ baddie.

 Foxx, who brings his debut stand-up show Villain to this year’s Fringe, explains a particular fascination with these wrong’uns. ‘Queerness exists outside the typical narrative so being an outsider is an inherent part of being gay. Growing up, the only gay representations I could find were villains; they all seemed to have this camp feminine energy and were absolutely fabulous.’

Villain is an autobiographical showcase of comedic observations, conjured from his coming-out era in the noughties. ‘It tells you exactly who I am, from my childhood and school years. The villain is such an archetypal, vampy, campy, musical-theatre type that I decided to include songs and musical performances in my show.’ Meanwhile, reflecting on his look for the show’s poster, Foxx says: ‘I have what the queer community call gay audacity. I’ve made my own villainous outfit and I can’t even sew.’

Foxx is as sharp and enigmatic in real life as the characters he portrays on social media. The 29-year-old has almost 250,000 followers on TikTok, amassing many millions of views for comedy sketches about middle-aged mothers and a supervillain’s gay assistant.

‘Bite-sized character studies are the new wave of comedy content on TikTok and I just love the engagement you get from it,’ he says. ‘The internet gave me the opportunity to find an audience in lockdown. It took a few months, but after posting three times a week, it finally took off.’

They say it takes ten years to become an overnight success but Foxx has done it in just four. ‘I’m a newcomer at the Fringe this year, but in reality I’m a haggard old witch. I’ve written everything from immersive murder-mystery dining experiences to a gender-swapped Beauty And The Beast to a superhero parody of Wolverine called Vulvarine. And to think I grew up dreaming of becoming a serious writer like Ian McEwan.’

Foxx has written eight musicals, including the sell-out, multi-award-winning Unfortunate: The Untold Story Of Ursula The Sea Witch, a musical parody of Disney’s The Little Mermaid, which debuted at the Fringe in 2019. ‘We aimed for stand-up levels of funny on that show. As a writer, it was a great learning experience. I want my stand-up show to be just as fabulous as musical theatre.’

So, are there any nerves for the comedy writer-turned performer? ‘Not in the slightest. I’m a little hussy for the attention,’ says Foxx with an evil laugh.

Daniel Foxx: Villain, Pleasance Courtyard, 2–27 August, 7.05pm.