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Praise and Criticism
This page of my website aims to share what some people have said about me and my work.
He is entirely compelling to watch. He’s a poet/writer/talker and it’s funny in parts but that’s not the point – there is something else happening, I’m not entirely sure what it is but it’s great and it wallops you in the belly. Daniel Kitson
Limited entertainment value or indeed point. Chortle
Weirdly moving in ways I still can’t quite define. I haven’t seen anything else quite like it, or him.
The Stage
At times the show became completely nonsensical and unfunny, with Auton rambling on like a mad man.
Three Weeks
Charming, eccentric and uplifting, Auton is a talent to watch.
The Independent
One of the most original voices in stand up comedy. A genius at breaking down the minutae of what we take for granted.
Manchester Wire
VERY HILARIOUSDavid Shrigley
Brilliant Stewart Lee
Few artists have ever managed to consistently provide me with such joy and pleasure as Rob Auton.
Scroobius Pip
Whimsy and wonderment are what Auton promises, yet rarely delivers. It all feels as flat as an overcast day.
Fest Magazine
I wish there’d been a bit more poetry.
Poetry Monthly
I could talk to you forever.
Cerys Matthews on 6 music
Poetical, philosophical, humane, completely charming and funny to boot.
The Guardian
His absurd brand of stand-up and poetry is exactly what the country needs right now.
Huffington Post
Funny, baffling and deeply moving.
The Telegraph
It’s eccentric, not always “hilarious” but purely pleasurable, and hard to leave without sharing Rob’s inspired sense of wonderment at the mundane.
Candid Magazine
One can only guess what’s going through the head of a man that elaborates in detail on the level of shame a fox would feel if he caught it drinking out of a puddle and the awkward conversation that would ensue thereafter.
The Reviews Hub
He's never going to be mainstream.
Chortle
Thought provoking comic relief.
Financial Times
Auton has crafted something with honesty, passion and care. Something so funny, but ultimately so moving and unexpected, that it leaves one floored at the climax. Comedy could use a few more Rob Autons – unafraid of sincerity and all the better for it.
The Skinny
I was a little perturbed that Rob read some of his lines.
One 4 Review
A very funny man.
Paddy Considine
He never picks on his audience, instead using interactions to poke fun at the craziness of the modern world.
Brighton Argus on The Yellow Show
We need him.
The Scotsman
Once immersed in his borderline autistic world there are all sorts of bizarre pearls of wisdom to behold.
Brighton Argus on 'The Sky Show'
Auton has expert comic timing. He draws laughs from the faintest drop of the head, leaves sentences hanging; lets the audience fill the gaps.
Fringe Guru
Funniest joke of the Fringe? He's having a laugh.
The Daily Mail
Rob Auton does what he wants, presumably well aware that not everyone will like it.
Londonisfunny.com
Some of the worst mic-craft I’ve ever seen of a comic.
Londonisfunny.com
Gaunt and deliberate.
Newsweek
He never seems particularly comfortable on stage
Chortle
A genuine original.
The Guardian
"Yes, The Sleep Show is intelligent, perceptive, and deeply profound — all of that’s true. But it’s also hilarious. " Broadway Baby
Like watching a kid caught in the stage lights of his first Nativity.
Venue.co.uk
Just sad.
Vanessa Feltz
"He’s immensely creative, and many of his jokes contain as much strange beauty as they do humour. As well as being completely hilarious, ‘The Sleep Show’ will fill your heart."
Three Weeks
Auton has this drunk, childlike quality to him.
Three Weeks
If performance poetry is the new rock n roll, Mr Auton is Jarvis Cocker circa 1995.
Broadway Baby
There's something of the children's TV presenter about Auton's presence.
Broadway Baby on the Face Show
You're the only one in here who understands what you are doing.
A recent piece of feedback I received from an audience member when performing in Kensal Rise.
He won't be everyone's cup of tea, in fact he regularly encouraged people to leave.
Darkchat.com
He tackles the human condition, the uncertainty that leads to religion and tells captivating stories through powerfully driven performance poetry.
Fringe Guru
Exactly the kind of show you should see at the fringe, the memory will stay with you for a long long time.
The Scotsman
He knows the show is ‘hit and miss’, not helped any further in this instance by the fact that half of his audience are Finnish GCSE students.
Latest.co.uk
Auton benefits from his natural affinity with a crowd to gain humour from his personality.
Edinburgh Festivals Magazine
Funny enough.
John Hegley
Auton is a generous, charming performer, with a strong fanbase, but if you're new to his work, The Hair Show is an excellent start. It's a warm, wonderful hour that proves there's no one quite like him.
The List
Disappointingly politically correct.
The Skinny
The Hair Show is delightful, funny and unique, and underlines Auton’s talent.
Chortle
Not many comedians could pen and perform sixty minutes’ worth of material about hair. Then again, Auton isn’t like many comedians. A totally captivating stage presence and a set brimming with clever material about something many of us have (but few of us ever think about) helps him makes his mark as a unique, analytical and, of course, extravagantly bearded comedian.
Edinburgh Festivals Magazine
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