Zach Zucker @ Underbelly, Cowgate

Zach Zucker's initial faux-coy persona does nothing to coax the crowd out of its shell. It’s problematic to the show, seems to put Zucker off his step, and it's not long into Human Person that he goes off script. It’s a physical and playful hour, with Zucker making the most of his Gaulier-training. He leaps, skulks and dances across the stage, toying with expectations and landing a couple of surprising punchlines. In places the jokes become pleasingly dark and the room collapses into uneasy laughter. 

However, a good deal of his clowning doesn’t pay off. Some of it is so incomprehensible that our attention is spent on figuring out what’s happening rather than looking for gags. Meanwhile, Zucker seems overly-focused on the audience not getting on board. After jettisoning the script a quarter of an hour in nothing really gets better towards the limp finale. Arguably an emboldened audience can make or break a good act, but a good atmosphere can’t improve an impenetrable show.

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Zach Zucker – Human Person, Underbelly Cowgate (Delhi Belly), until 27 Aug (not 16), 6.40pm, £8-10