Michael Redmond: Mannequins, Fishmongers, Guacamole and Me ... and Other Things

This show could so easily have been awful. A comic who hilariously phones back an audience member’s mobile caller, a bizarre mannequin (in a going-out dress) that nearly takes someone’s eye out in an awkward dance finale, and a total lack of any kind of structure or through line.

Fortunately, Glasgow’s own Michael Redmond handles the whole thing with such gentle confidence that he has tonight’s eleven-strong audience eating out of the palm of his hand.

With a couple of the audience obviously delighted at his very presence (is it the moustache? the accent?), he chats amiably about Sinead O’Connor, poached eggs, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (if you’ve ever wondered how one can chat amiably about  the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, this is the show for you) and he’s soon merrily passing Hobnobs around the audience and bemoaning his lack of a kettle. Before rugby tackling a slightly-too-eager volunteer from the audience.

There’s no cutting-edge satire, astute observationalism, or astonishing acting at work here. But you’ll probably leave feeling that little bit happier. And appreciative of a good piece of ‘ordinary’ toast.