Rachel Stubbings: Doing It for Himself @ Underbelly, Bristo Square

On entering the room a very friendly usher leads everyone to their seats, offering sweets and making pleasant small talk. The stage set with a pink chair and table cluttered with small clay animals, random books and a cocktail glass that is more likely filled with vodka than water by the way things are going. At this point everyone realises the usher is actually Rachel Stubbings cleverly blending in. Her show Doing it for Himself is about failing to be intelligent and feminine after growing up with two genius brothers.

After great introductory banter things quickly escalate to a hot mess. The London comedian rambles quickly, stopping and starting new stories in the middle of others then going back to the previous story, making it difficult to follow. The random streams of thought mostly revolve around tales of how crap Stubbings is and her mindreading skills that involve renaming people to fit her predictions. The carry-on is a bit sad and self-deprecating, which does work for some people – a handful laugh as the rest of the audience silently resist the urge to give her a hug and a cuppa.

Performing for the second time at Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Stubbings is also an actress appearing on Sky Atlantic’s Common People, E4′s Celebrity Bedlam and Alice Lowe’s BBC Radio 4 series, Alice's Wunderland. Her show gets a few laughs while making people feel sorry for her, but it feels a bit sad and manipulative, rather than actual comedy.