2015 Edinburgh Fringe

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Rhys James is a young, white, middle class, straight man. In the game of life, that is a royal flush. Then why is it so difficult to be him? Maybe it's because he hasn't experienced any of the necessary hardship for a balanced perspective? Or maybe it's because his childhood was so by-the-book his opinion always comes from a place of complete irrelevance? Or maybe he's just a bit of a prick? Whichever it is, he has now decided he wants respect. Respect he doesn't deserve. From audiences, from his peers and from you.

To get respect as a 24 year old comedian you either have to be so mind-blowingly funny you're bordering on genius, or dead.

This is Rhys's attempt to die.

Rhys announced himself onto the Edinburgh scene in 2014 with his highly acclaimed debut Begins, which successfully transferred to the prestigious Soho Theatre for a week long sell-out run. The run was such a hit that an extra date was added in the main house.

During last year's Edinburgh Festival, Rhys performed on Seann Walsh's Late Night Comedy Spectacular for BBC Three. He has since guest-starred on panel shows such as E4's Virtually Famous and twice on BBC Three's Sweat The Small Stuff. Rhys was also selected as one of the rising stars to perform on BBC Radio 4's Fresh from the Fringe, as well as numerous appearances on Josh Widdicombe's XFM show and Rob Beckett's Rock 'N' Roll Football on Absolute Radio. Last October Rhys was one of the stars of Talkback pilot The Vacuum and appeared as one of twelve comedians on Channel 4's Taxi Gags.

In 2010 Rhys performed at the Edinburgh Festival as part of the prestigious Pleasance Comedy Reserve, before returning in 2012 as part of AAA Stand-Up. His 2013 Edinburgh show, Rhys James Prepares, was voted as one of Time Out's best Ten Free Shows at the Festival and was hailed on Twitter as an 'Edinburgh must see' by the likes of Bob Mortimer.

Known for his sharp and amusing tweets, Rhys was recently named as one of the Funniest People To Follow on Twitter by both The Telegraph and The Gentleman's Journal. He also has a strong following on YouTube for his unique comedic poetry, and has written material for Russell Howard's Good News (BBC Three), Mock The Week (BBC2), Newzoids (ITV1) and 8 Out of 10 Cats (Channel 4).