From his Fringe debut a decade ago, Rob Auton has been delivering his signature soft-spoken comedy that leaves audiences feeling lighter. Over the years, he’s tackled a range of random subjects in his shows that he peers at quizzically like a child looking at a bug through a magnifying glass. Is a mountain just a hill with creases? After dedicating an hour to the colour yellow and writing a show entirely about hair, it was high time the comedian simply made a show about himself.

The Rob Auton Show casts the crowd back to the 80s, starting from his very first memory. He delivers a beautiful poem about buying this moment in a ‘memory auction.’ Of course, he’s the only one to bid on it, as it doesn’t mean anything to anyone except him. We journey on from this candid opening to revisit some other childhood recollections, including his first ‘outside of school’ girlfriend and the world-stopping time when he broke his sister’s games console. All these moments sum up what he describes as ‘the human experience.’ 

Auton is effortlessly funny in a wise and timeless kind of way. He recounts a critic of a previous show describing him as ‘adopting the persona of an underprepared best man.’ With his scabby notepad of printed prompts covered in scribbles of red pen, it’s understandable where this description came from. But it’s arguable that Auton is more like a spacey bloke you’d run into at a hippie festival; he’s that guy who would explain the meaning of life to you while you’re queuing for the portable toilets at 7am. 

The Rob Auton Show, Assembly Roxy, until 26 August, 2.25pm.