Biography
PERRIER AWARD NOMINEE
'BEST NEWCOMER 2003'
CHORTLE AWARDS
'BEST BREAKTHROUGH ACT 2004'
Alex Horne's first ever gig came after winning a Christmas Cracker joke writing competition whilst working as Deputy Head of Dairy at Budgens in Midhurst. Since that inauspicious beginning he has managed to establish a remarkable reputation among critics, comics and audiences as a gifted gag-smith, prolific writer and one of the most creative solo performers at work today.
In August 2003 Alex took his innovative, interactive and hotly-tipped debut show Making Fish Laugh to the Assembly Rooms at the Edinburgh Festival. The show saw Alex and his assistant Tim Key recreating experiments carried out by scientists in 1976 to find out exactly what it is that makes humans laugh. By combining studious research, his own unique brand of twisted logic and some quite complicated puns with psychological theories and inappropriate science he managed to create one of the undisputed hits of the fringe.
Extremely well-conceived and executed, this makes for a fine hour laughing about laughter
Steve Jelbert - The Independent.
This delightfully daft lecture elevates him into a new league
Bruce Dessau - Evening Standard
Being blinded by science has rarely seemed this fun
Nick Awde - The Stage
This is a hugely impressive debut. Conditions for laughter at the fringe? Alex Horne's gig
Alex O'Connell - The Times
After the festival Alex transferred his show to a season in the West End at the prestigious Soho Theatre where he sold out every date before moving on to various other exotic locations including the Singapore Comedy Festival and the Arts Theatre in Bangor, Northern Ireland.
The following year he and Tim returned to Edinburgh with his new show Every Body Talks; an ambitious series of experimental lectures in which the audiences' body language was examined under his unique comedic microscope. Again the inventive approach, delicately crafted material and unusual style proved exceptionally successful with festival-goers and journalists alike and Alex is now working on developing the show for both radio and television.
They blend intriguing intellectual content with a persistent playfulness that keeps you gripped for an hour... a beguiling blend of the smart and the stupid, conveyed by a blithely brilliant double act; straight man and straighter man. A real delight
Dominic Maxwell - The Times
A subtly-structured piece of gentle genius which explores non-verbal communication, complete with pie charts, graphics and an odd picture of Ken Dodd
Bruce Dessau - Evening Standard
One white male who really should have received a (Perrier) nomination is Alex Horne, who was a newcomer nominee last year and whose new show, Every Body Talks, is more ambitious in imagination and complexity. Stand-up purists may balk at the quantity of props, but this is the most inventive show I have seen this year
Stephanie Merritt - The Observer
The concept is ambitious, the execution delightful and the atmosphere charming. Put simply, Every Body Talks is unlike anything else you will see on the Fringe. Which is exactly why you should go
Steve Bennett - Chortle
In the meantime, Alex is currently appearing in the top comedy clubs, pubs and theatres all over Britain including Jongleurs, Downstairs at the Kings Head and The Comedy Store. In previous years he completed a 45-date national tour with Robert Llewellyn and has written and performed with Craig Charles on ITV and Steve Coogan's Baby Cow Productions for BBC3. Alex also featured in the celebrated new comedy series Spanking New on Radio 7 and Laugh Out Loud, a documentary with the artist Nicola Green on Radio 4.
Brilliant one liners
THE TIMES
Horne has superb timing and fascinating delivery... Pure comedy gold
METRO
Not in a long time have I seen a comedian break down the barriers with his audience and put faith in them in such a funny and original way
THE HERALD
A quick witted and genial comedian
THE INDEPENDENT