Hayley Ellis: FOMO

Hayley Ellis, a regular contributor to Russell Howard's Good News, benefits from having a stage to herself. It allows her to craft a set built from equal parts sharp-eyed observational comedy and some more compellingly personal material.

Her routines primarily spin off from a series of self-help techniques she has attempted (an oddly common theme in standup at this year's Fringe), but the structure never feels forced, letting her transition between subjects with either easy grace or cheerfully abrupt segues.

Ellis has a tremendous facility for keeping a joke going, allowing it to sprawl without becoming tiresome. An early anecdote concerning the bird-based bullying she received from pupils while working as a teaching assistant isn't that epic a narrative, but through her telling, Ellis manages to make it feel like one. Her banter with the audience is also welcome, not only friendly and positive, but productive in the improvised material it elicits.

While most standups will find inspiration in their personal lives, translating their traumas and frustrations into laughter, Ellis goes further – not quite spilling her guts, but showing a little more of herself than other comedians more wrapped up in their carefully constructed stage personas. Her jovial and honest reflections on anxiety are the best element of the show (particularly her memories of working at an anxiety charity alongside several other fellow sufferers), mining a rich vein of self-deprecating humour without ever losing empathy for the condition itself. Ellis is a talent who deserves more encouragement and exposure.