Critically acclaimed new comedian Rory Marshall brings his sell-out Edinburgh Fringe hit Pathetic Little Characters to Brighton’s Komedia this week, following a standout debut run that marked him out as one of comedy’s sharpest new voices.
The show earned a place among the best-reviewed Fringe productions of 2025, featuring in the British Comedy Guide’s Best-Reviewed Shows, The Observer’s Fringe Highlights and Time Out’s Best Comedy at the Edinburgh Fringe. Praise has been effusive, with Metro awarding five stars and calling Marshall “one to watch”, while The Times described the show as “a real Fringe find”.
In Pathetic Little Characters, Marshall dives headfirst into a gallery of awkward, anxious and often painfully recognisable men — from a patronising barman and a weary teaching assistant to a Love Island contestant and the bloke in the club who won’t stop talking. Marshall insists the characters are nothing like him, though he admits there may be ‘a worrying amount’ of himself in all of them.
Beneath the laughs sits a sharp, empathetic look at modern masculinity — exploring bravado, insecurity and the strange ways people perform when they want to belong. The comedy is observational, fast-paced and knowingly cringe-inducing, but never cruel. As Marshall puts it, these are people he loves, even at their most ridiculous.
Brighton audiences may already know Marshall from his sold-out work-in-progress at Brighton Fringe, or from his earlier life playing punk shows in the city with his band Birdskulls. Though he’s swapped guitar for microphone, he says the punk attitude remains firmly intact.
Marshall has appeared on Starstruck and Ellie & Natasia and has been heard on BBC Radio 4. Pathetic Little Characters is directed by Alex Cartlidge and Will Farrell.
Details
Komedia Studio, Komedia, 44-47 Gardner Street, Brighton, BN1 1UN
Saturday 17 January 2026
Tickets: https://www.komedia.co.uk/shows/rory-marshall-pathetic-little-characters/?eid=18080
Doors 6pm / Event 6.30pm
Age – 16 +
Images credit: Rebecca Need-Menear
