ALOK

ALOK bring their latest show to The Steamworks on Friday 27 November, a night they describe as their most intimate comedy show to date, built around love, heartbreak and the end times. It's a far cry from the usual stand-up set, and the description alone tells you where it's heading.

If you haven't come across them yet, ALOK (they/them) is an internationally acclaimed poet, comedian, writer and public speaker. Their mixed-media work looks at trauma, belonging and the human condition, and they've put out three books: Femme in Public (2017), Beyond the Gender Binary (2020) and Your Wound, My Garden (2021). They also started #DeGenderFashion, a movement to degender the fashion and beauty industries.

This is their first comedy special, BIOLOGY!, which was executive produced by Christopher Guest. They're also the subject of the docu-short ALOK, executive produced by Jodie Foster and directed by Alex Hedison, which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in 2024. On screen they've appeared in The Trans List and Random Acts of Flyness, and on television in HBO's Sex Lives of College Girls, Sort Of and *Planet Sex with Cara Delevingne'. They've presented at more than 600 venues across 40 countries and headlined the 2021 New York Comedy Festival.

It's a lot of ground to cover for one person, and this show brings it all into one room. The night starts at 19:00 at The Steamworks, 109-111 Randall Street, Highfield, S2 4SJ, and tickets are £30.80, which includes the booking fee.