Xavier Toby was relaxed and welcoming; joking about the latest Olympic action as seats were filled. His show blends immature yet effective sex jokes with serious, thought provoking topics like education and the environment, and his creative use of props drew lots of laughter from the crowd. He should probably place more emphasis on serious topics, however, as that’s what his act is marketed on; he explored the damaging effect of social networking upon younger generations with good humour, but when it came to the economy and the environment I felt he could have delved deeper. His best bits were spontaneous, the moments when he responded to things going wrong, or to audience reaction. See this show for a laugh and some minor stimulation, but don’t expect Xavier to lead the thinking revolution.

C nova, 3-27 Aug, 6.00pm.
tw rating 3/5 | [Joe Mountford-Smith]