★★★★☆

Review by John Gibson. Venue 257 – Laughing Horse @ The Pear Tree – Main room

After five minutes an elderly man stands up and announces ‘I have had enough of this. This is too stupid!’. His Danish/Swedish accent makes the audience suspect a plant (later we discover that Falafel’s daughter is in the audience), but this brief overreaction is useful as Falafel avoids the usual point-scoring that occurs after walkouts or interruptions, and distinguishes himself amongst his peers as less combative and more collaborative.

After his sudden but brief interruption Falafel seems genuinely surprised. Angry punters do not usually storm out on sets that studiously omit identity politics or other contentious issues. Audience participation is the key aspect of this set and the crowd are on board.

A mother and son combo assist with the punning and video-assisted clowning, providing fodder for the call-backs, bespoke sing-a-longs and weird associations. The rather Vic & Bob fishing-for-insults-using-a-miniature-rod-and-ducks-velcroed-to-a-bike-helmet produces some of the most specific and gentle insults you will ever hear at a Fringe show that purports to have such a segment.

Falafel has also arrived in Edinburgh armed with several gags to rival his best joke of the Fringe in 2019: ‘I keep randomly shouting out broccoli and cauliflower – I think I might have florets.’ There is also more than a little Harry Hill in his animal punning surrealism, but also a little of Jim Tavare in his appearance and how he structures a gag. All of which makes his material feel familiar and reassuring, and it is obvious why Falafel also brings a children’s show to the Fringe and has managed to parlay his stand-up career into the world of children’s books.

This show is fun and undemanding (unless you are allergic to silliness) and is a nice palate cleanser amidst the politicising and point scoring of his peers.