In true Geordie tradition, Kai Humphries comes across as maybe too polite to be a comedian – until he starts speaking. He dabbles with self-mockery, but also presents a candid side to the life he now loves. That’s the basis for ‘How To Be Happy’, a concept that seems relatively elementary and hardly enterprising. Though it sometimes hit crudity, everybody howled as the hugely likeable Humphries brought out the infantilism in us all, his cheeky and cheerful gab instantly gets the audience on his side. However, though he may have the chatter that gets people chuckling, the writing is instantly forgettable – this comedian-cum-preacher concluding his show with a impassioned yet highly lackadaisical enlightenment on how to be happy.

Gilded Balloon, until 30 Aug.
tw rating 3/5 | [Kieran Scott]