Avalon Edinburgh Preview: Steve Bugeja and Ania Magliano

Steve Bugeja

Steve Bugeja is one of the circuit’s most exciting comedians, writers and performers. Steve co-created and co-wrote the ITV2 sitcom Buffering with Iain Stirling. A second series of the fresh new comedy showcasing Iain and Steve’s brilliantly funny and razor-sharp millennial voices will air in January 2023.

Steve previously hosted the BBC Radio 4 series Economics with Subtitles and has made numerous appearances on TV shows including The Russell Howard Hour (Sky One), Love Island: Aftersun (ITV2), Russell Howard’s Stand Up Central (Comedy Central) and Zoe Ball on Saturday (ITV1). A prolific writer, Steve is the head writer for Iain Stirling’s CelebAbility (ITV2) and was a key member of the writing team for The Russell Howard Hour (Sky One). He has contributed material to Mock the Week (BBC2), 8 Out of 10 Cats (Channel 4) and BBC Radio 4. Making a name for himself internationally, Steve has twice been invited to perform at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, appearing on Opening Night Comedy Allstars Supershow (ABC1) and on Comedy Up Late (ABC1). Steve won the BBC New Comedy Award in 2013 and has since performed numerous Edinburgh Fringe shows and national tours.

'Bugeja has an eye for original comic detail that’s all his own' The Guardian
'Plentiful jokes and compelling storytelling' The Scotsman
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Ania Magliano
Ania is a comedian based in London. She’s a triple threat (bisexual, Gen Z, bad at cooking). Her sharp, wry writing combined with her warm conversational performance style make her a glittering new talent (the i Paper) of the UK comedy scene.

Her 2023 stand up show, I Can’t Believe You’ve Done This, was nominated for the Edinburgh Comedy Award for Best Show, and sold out its entire Fringe run before the festival began. It received multiple 4 and 5 star reviews, with the Scotsman calling it a beautifully structured show and Ania a truly original voice with an impressive set of skills. The show was included in British Comedy Guide’s Best Reviewed Edinburgh Fringe Shows 2023 list and was the Number 1 pick in Time Out’s The 11 best comedy shows at Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2023.

Her debut hour of comedy, Absolutely No Worries If Not, won Best New Show at Leicester Comedy Festival 2022, and sold out entire runs at the Edinburgh Fringe and Soho Theatre. An extra date was put on at London’s Leicester Square Theatre for one night only. The Times described it as the sort of elegantly amusing, surprising and inspiring debut hour that you come to the Fringe to see, whilst the Guardian listed it as one of 10 Fringe Shows Not To Miss, saying it ‘will have you crying with laughter.

Ania has appeared on multiple podcasts, including picking what was described by Ed as one of the worst menus ever on Off Menu with Ed Gamble and James Acaster. You may have heard her on Radio 5 Live with Elis James and John Robins, Brett Goldstein’s Films to be Buried With, Pappy’s Flatshare, Trusty Hogs, Cuddle Club and The Moon Under Water. She has opened for Ed Gamble, Marc Maron and Catherine Cohen. She has also appeared on ITV2’s The Stand Up Sketch Show, Dave’s Get Off My Phone and Dave’s The Comedy Guide to Life.

As a writer Ania regularly works with comedian, journalist and viral sensation Amelia Dimoldenberg on Chicken Shop Date and Amelia’s Cooking Show, featuring guests such as Ed Sheeran, Charli XCX and Louis Theroux. She has written for The Emily Atack Show (ITV2), Frankie Boyle’s New World Order (BBC2), Newsjack (BBC R4) and The Now Show (BBC R4). Recently she’s written and created corporate content for major brands such as BeautyPie and PrimeVideoUK. She has written multiple well received columns for the Metro (UK), and also publishes her own newsletter on Substack to hundreds of readers. Ania has a growing social media following, including 25k followers on Twitter, and over 1 million views on Youtube with over 20k subscribers. She’s recently branched out into TikTok, amassing over 1.8 million likes. You may recognise her from one of her previous hair colours.