Christopher Macarthur-Boyd @ Monkey Barrel

Christopher Macarthur-Boyd may be a small, speccy Glaswegian lad raised by his maternal grandparents, with a secret, unperturbed grandma in the Southside, but he commands a room as we imagine a 6' 5'' blonde-mulleted Australian commands the waves at Bondi Beach.

Howling at the Moon is a masterclass in pacing, punchline placement, and delivery, with hilarious sprinkles of pitch-perfect impressions. Dressed in a ’70s woollen suit (in which he will sweat through during the show), Macarthur-Boyd shifts effortlessly between sharp social observation and pure silliness. Comparing the differences between Glasgow and Edinburgh and skewering the ever-present north-south divide, he cleverly sets the stage and lets the audience in. 

His impressions of Sir David Attenborough – “the only thing great about Great Britain” (cue cheering and hard nodding) – and his re-enactment of a random man outside Ting Thai miming sexual acts are playfully endearing. Beneath the silliness, there’s always bite to his back-to-back punchlines and set-ups.

He threads in tales of growing up in Glasgow’s East End, visiting “the Louvre-like” Forge Retail Park with his taxi-driving grandad, alongside stories of working-class and upper-class racism. Callbacks are placed with surgical precision, and he quickly earns enough audience trust to let them finish the punchlines themselves.

Homoerotic undertones – sharing chocolate and Irn-Bru with a mate, or skinny dipping by moonlight – are delivered with such charm they become some of the show’s most memorable moments. Riffs on video games create inside jokes with the crowd, while ADHD mishaps and reflections on recent bereavement are handled with warmth, physicality, and razor-sharp comic timing.

Howling at the Moon is both daft and deft; a joyous, tightly constructed hour from a comic who knows exactly how to work a crowd.

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Christopher Macarthur-Boyd: Howling at the Moon, Monkey Barrel (MB1), until 24 Aug, 9pm, sold out but some pay-what-you-want tickets available on the door; extra show at Assembly Rooms (Music Hall), Sat 23 Aug, 10.30pm, £15