Michael Fabbri

A nervous, fidgety comic at the best of times, Michael Fabbri looks a bit disarmed by the scattered audience of 15 he sees before him tonight. It’s a Friday night and he clearly thinks he deserves better.

On balance, he’s right. This year Fabbri has constructed a decent, well thought-out set packed full of ideas and intelligent thoughts. The only real theme comes from his former job at a London Jobcentre, an obvious fountain of comic material. Here Fabbri encountered all manner of bizarre individuals, including notably a paedophile (“people say they’re nice, they’re not, they’re slimy and horrible”), an axe murderer, and a plastic surgeon who presented a dossier of page 3 girls as evidence that he could dramatically reduce ageing. Such gently surreal observation is nicely worked and Fabbri has a natural comic timing that helps to keep the momentum going when the material occasionally falls a bit short. There are also some real gems as the set gets going, including a neat aside about replacing cats' collars with crucifixes to freak out their owners.

Unfortunately not everybody appreciates this gag, and four crucifix-wearing punters promptly make their way out. It is a total overreaction. Fabbri’s observational material may not be particularly original or polished, but he’s certainly not offensive. However, instead of turning the freak walkout to his advantage, Fabbri stands around awkwardly as they leave. It’s a sad ending to a promising gig, but if Fabbri can grow a thicker skin in the future, good things lie ahead.