Michael Legge @ The Stand

Around the same time that pop icon David Bowie died last year, Michael Legge’s beloved dog Jerk also died. This eleven-year relationship is one that was dear to the frantic comedian, and it is to Jerk that this hour of comedy is dedicated. It isn’t entirely about her, though, and instead sees Legge embark on a kind of angry whimsy that he implies is largely absent from the rest of the festival. Starting out with a series of enthusiastic one-liners, we do eventually sidle into the serious, but without Legge offering any actual answers to the things he is raging against, and without answers really being necessary.

He's really hit his stride as a performer, and Legge allows himself to get very closely acquainted with his audience, keen to bring us on board with everything he says. At times this means that he gets carried away on a tangent, but his stage style is so affable that this scattered approach comes off as charming.

Even if Legge’s not doing what he planned all the time, he knows what he is doing, he knows his audience is comfortable with it, and most importantly, we’re all having a good time with him and his whimsy.

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Michael Legge: Jerk, The Stand Comedy Club 2, until 27 Aug (not 14), 1.20pm, £8-9