Paul B Edwards- Tweeting Beauty (and other stories)

It's hard to criticise Paul B Edwards' show when it's such a clear hit with today's capacity crowd. A personable and eloquent performer, he's wholly comfortable on stage and bravely overcomes a sore throat which threatens to ruin the hour completely. It's a shame that the basic premise of his show is artistically redundant, and that the politics he brings into it are inconsistent and confusing.

Edwards believes that fairy tales are outdated and have no relevance to the modern world. In his own words, “they're fucking boring.” How does our hero attempt to make them more interesting? By finding allusions to paedophilia where there aren't any and by mining them for dull innuendo.

A police report filed by the troll from the Billygoats' Gruff tale is read aloud, while a glove puppet child points out the inaccuracies at the heart of Little Red Riding Hood. A talking wolf! Imagine! These concepts are well executed for what they are, but hardly inspiring. The low point is Edwards' retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk from a 'lesbian feminist perspective' in which the desire to build a woman's shelter is equated with radical, unsustainable beliefs. The beanstalk, of course, is baulked at for being a phallic symbol, as is anything longer than its width to a complacent comedic mind. The less said about the 'magic bean' the better.