After battling the labyrinth of stairways and corridors on your adventure into the depths of Espionage, you may come across some comedy. Every evening at 10 you’ll discover two of the festival’s newest comics and their show, Bad Advice – Free. Lauren Shearing and Sarah Pearce give it an enthusiastic and happy try, and it’s not so bad, as debuts go. Gentle heckling and a tangible ability to encourage audience participation did win some people over, but with only intermittent laughter at the occasional crude joke this feels more like an act by two Butlins Reps than a performance at the world’s largest comedy festival. However, with a more polished routine and slightly less giggling the girls could definitely start considering next year’s show.

Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 5-26 Aug, 10.00pm
tw rating 2/5 | [James Valentine]