Imogen Andrews @ Pleasance Dome

That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as in the case of Imogen Andrews. At its strongest, her debut hour The Unlikeable Worms showcases a seriously impressive arsenal of performing arts talents. She can sing, she can rap (really well), her ear for accents is excellent, as is her physicality. She can convey whole, paragraph-long thoughts with a subtle eyebrow furrow. This arsenal is displayed in full across a series of characters: a roadman, a dating expert, a politician, an estate agent, and a West London mum. The costume changes are an unnecessary addition, so distinctive is each persona. 

But... are they funny? They certainly have the bones to be. The roadman in particular – the tutting, face-stroking, occasional glimmers of uncontrollable violence – is so fully realised that it gave me (and I’m betting multiple others) past-dating-horror chills. The downfall of this hour is that, well, it’s an hour. Each character lasts far too long, with the punchlines continually lost amongst the agonising set-up. Frustratingly, many of Andrews’ characters came so close to landing – surely an obvious joke about rental prices nationwide is better than no joke at all – but never quite did. 

This shouldn’t be a deterrent to Andrews, or any prospective audience members. There is more than enough here to exalt in, and a snappier, braver hour feels entirely achievable.