Nathan Dean Williams Presents... The Buffet

Coulrophobia is the proper name for the fear of clowns. If you're not a sufferer already, ten minutes in the company of Nathan Dean Williams should change that.

The clown tortured by a children's party gone fatally wrong is one of six characters played by Williams in this set of darkly comic monologues. One memorable costume change seems him turn into a rabbit; perhaps the best character is a downtrodden husband drawn into his wife's Scooby Doo-themed lesbian fantasies. All of the characters are played with mesmerising intensity by Williams, a powerful performer whose presence reaches past the stage and grabs the audience by their throats.

The incessant bleakness and death gets slightly repetitive and an occasional variation in tone wouldn't hurt this show. But it's still a compelling experience with some of the blackest laughs in town. If you like your comedy to be slightly traumatic, this could well be the show for you.