Always Be Comedy: The Tommyfield pub, Kennington, London, 2017
Mervyn Stutter’s Pick of The Fringe: Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh, 2018
Always Be Comedy: The Tommyfield pub, Kennington, London, 2021
Steve Bugeja: Tried To Start His Own Nickname (WIP): Leicester Comedy Festival, Firebug, Leicester, 2022
Iain Stirling: Failing Upwards (support): Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre, London, 2022
Leicester Comedy Festival 2024: Steve Bugeja: Success (WIP): Phoenix Arts Centre, Leicester, 2024
Iain Stirling: Relevant (support): Hackney Empire, London, 2024
Steve Bugeja: Shiny: Edinburgh Fringe 2024: Monkey Barrel, Edinburgh, 2024
Steve Bugeja performed at Always Be Comedy in 2017. As I watched, he delivered a stream of convincing, structural, and very funny jokes making for a very entertaining twenty-minute set. The material was very self-depreciating and for all his social-incompetence, Bugeja is a natural and genuine comic.
I watched the comic at Mervyn Stutter’s Pick of The Fringe at the Edinburgh Festival in August 2018. In his fifteen-minute slot, his stories involving a school reunion were priceless and he looked extremely nervy and awkward on stage with a high-pitched voice which added to the laughs.
I saw Bugeja as a guest at Always Be Comedy performing new material in December 2021 before watching a full preview of his new show Tried To Start His Own Nickname (work in progress) at the Leicester Comedy Festival in February 2022 and then supporting Iain Stirling on tour in March 2022. Bugeja, the extremely likeable and naturally funny comedian was in total command of the rooms and was easily relatable with the audiences talking about relationships and break-ups, celebrity status, his upbringing, and his career.
It was so great to see Bugeja again at the Leicester Comedy Festival in February 2024 performing his new work-in-progress show, Success. He has a great way of demanding the audience’s attention on stage with his very likeable, nervy persona. The show about his success so far in life was relatable and extremely funny.
The comedian was wonderful support again for his mate, Iain Stirling on his tour, Relevant, that I watched at The Hackney Empire, London in March 2024. The audience really appreciated the delivery and laughed a lot at the angst from his stories.
With the title changed from Success to Shiny, following on from the work-in-progress show that I watched at the Leicester Comedy Festival, I watched Bugeja’s new solo show at the Edinburgh Fringe in August 2024. Constantly funny viewpoints delivered with wonderful innocence as the comedian commanded the stage for an hour. This was a masterclass in comedy from a superb talent.
Bugeja is a terrific comedian worth seeing and highly recommended.