Stuart Laws @ Monkey Barrel at the Hive

Stuart Laws was diagnosed as autistic last year, and the experience has clearly been transformative, allowing him to make sense of his life. Armed with this new knowledge, he's trying to be more real, and this show sees him newly optimistic about life and love.

Indulging in a bit of conjecture about cultural icons with autism, Laws reckons Jesus was a dead cert, with a great gag about the Last Supper. And given the struggle with small talk, he's created a series of prompt cards with some questions which are not odd at all, such as 'where would you least like a horse to be?' His prompt about bedtimes is another classic, and Laws is properly crestfallen when his time is beaten by someone in the front row who goes to bed really quite late.

He mentions poring over psychology books, which he thought was a hobby, but in light of the diagnosis he realises now was more about survival. It's a small, sad epiphany and leaning into these more thoughtful moments would allow the audience to really feel the sadness of the time spent masking his true self. It's undoubtedly a tricky line to walk in stand-up – and it takes confidence not to rush past the sincerity.

Laws is preoccupied with the struggle to be authentic in relationships, so it's apt that the structuring device for the show is a relationship with us, the audience, tracing an arc from the early days of getting to know each other (his horse question always a reliable opener) all the way to break-up. It's not wholly successful, but the conceit leads him to an excellent definition of callbacks as 'reminiscing over good times'.

With his slightly anxious charm, Stuart Laws has a directness that’s very likeable, and his exploration of more searching material can surely only become richer and more engaging.

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Stuart Laws Has to Be Joking?, Monkey Barrel @ The Hive (Hive 2), until 25 Aug (not 14), 4.45pm, £5-11