‘Dead-pan is a mixture of shame and the fear of failure’, posits our host, his delivery as dry as a Saharan cream cracker. Daniel Simonsen, who has garnered enough ‘one-to-watch’ plaudits to fill a large mantel-piece, claims that ‘Stranger’ is a show based on riffing without structure, and this is certainly true. There’s an element of the ramshackle to this performance; it’s funny in parts but the comedian often seems to get lost in his own uncertainty. There’s some quality material here, but Simonsen desperately struggles to fill anything close to an hour and consequently ‘Strangers’ has more stretch marks than a mother of octuplets. Undoubtedly talented, Simonsen needs a guiding hand, and a properly structured show to get the best out of him. Someone do it.

Pleasance Dome, until 26 Aug, 8.20pm
tw rating: 3/5 | [Joseph Trotter]