Tom Basden: Now That's What I Call Music-Based Comedy

Musical comedy runs a double risk – of a performer being a talented comic without much musical skill, or a good musician but unfunny. Fortunately, Tom Basden is very proficient in both respects and his show is an endearing and funny montage of songs, ideas and pictures.

The show, which makes use of a projector screen showing Basden's photos and drawings, is split into four parts – for no particular reason other than to provide a structure for his random and rambling thoughts. There is little in the way of overriding theme, but this suits Basden's style just fine as he flits distractedly from one topic to the next. Basden's comic timing and balance is just right. The most common mistake in music-based comedy is songs that go on for much longer than they need to, but Basden has mostly short numbers and intersperses his longer pieces with short quips or visual gags.

Best of all, he is a truly gifted musician, proficient at guitar, banjo and various made-up instruments – playing so casually he makes it look easy. Even if you don't quite get the joke (I confess there was a song about Neighbours that completely went over my head as a non-viewer) you can still delight in the tune. It's advisable to queue early to get a good seat – a chunk of the audience can't quite see the projector screen properly, hampering some of the more text-heavy gags. However, it's well worth braving the crowd and the heat to see this comedy maestro.