This is the story of a man seeking to escape his day job in a pie factory by winning a talent contest. Mat Ewins, in character, seeks to convince us of his talents by way of an increasingly shambolic series of demonstrations. The feigned incompetence may deter some, but it shouldn’t. Leaving aside the ‘actual’ shambles that he asked ‘the ThreeWeeks reviewer’ not to mention (so I won’t – we’re all pros here… ahem), this is coordinated chaos done very well. Ewins ranges widely from deft gags to outright slapstick, carrying things along at pace with charm, good silly fun, ‘tech bullshit’ considerably more accomplished than it first appears, and some choice slices of audience involvement.

Just The Tonic at the Caves, until 29 Aug.
tw rating 4/5 | Bruce Blacklaw