Every day at the Fringe that includes a trip to Just the Tonic at the Caves is a good day.

For my money this is the best venue bar at the fringe and I have wasted many a happy hour waiting for shows by drinking gin and playing boardgames on the old wooden bench tables at the back.

On this day we were here to see a clown performing his first ever solo hour show at the Fringe – Daniel Audritt.

As we enter the room our clown is already on stage chatting away with the audience. He explains that this is because he has created an intro video for the show that he just can’t follow so wants to get out ahead of the disappointment.

This natural state was actually the best part of the show for me, it was totally unscripted and showed off our clown’s ability to engage and riff off a crowd.

After this the show proper began and things turned very “American gag-man” – the performance was slick, well written and incredibly solid and yet it just didn’t have that extra spark that makes a good show great.

Among the flurry of topics covered was a genuinely clever routine pointing out just how many bad words start with man… Ironic as the man next to me chuckled whilst also man-spreading in a tight row and man-splaining gags to his girlfriend! Oh man, talk about how to totally miss the point.

Please don’t get me wrong, there is a confident clown with real writing talent here who could really step up once he breaks out of the formulaic delivery style.

For now though as a lunchtime show it’s one of the better ones and offers slick, solid entertainment for just a fiver.

Clown Stars: * * *

 @Just the Tonic – Edinburgh