Well, this one was a long time coming. We first stumbled upon Vittorio acting as a raucous MC, at the Vauxhall comedy club, alongside the wild talents of Jamie Hutchinson and Eshaan Akbar. Hell, they ripped the place apart, and ever since that fateful night, we’ve been chasing the dragon, trying to catch that same high.

But fate, that fickle mistress, had other plans. Last year, this clown goes and gets nominated for the Best Newcomer award, and what a thrill that must’ve been for him. But for us? It was like searching for hen’s teeth, trying to score a ticket. We missed out, and it stung.

So, this year, we weren’t leaving anything to chance. Vittorio was one of the first names on our list. We booked those tickets months in advance, staking our claim like bloodthirsty pirates. And there we were, at the Monkey Barrel, early as sin, waiting for the spectacle to kick off.

Now, Monkey Barrel 4 is a sweatbox, a sauna from the bowels of hell, especially when the scorching sun is beating down outside. But our ingenious clown had a trick up his sleeve, or should I say, in his box. The “Vittorio FANgelone,” a frickin’ fan, branded with his own name, handed out just before the show, saving us from roasting alive.

He sauntered onto the stage, swaggering like a rock star, and fired off a line like a shotgun blast, “How many of you know the ‘who do you think you are? I am’ video?” The silence was deafening. “You know, the one with Pete Weber? My Hero.” More silence. It could’ve been an awkward misfire on night one, but by this point, in the thick of the run, he’d turned that potential disaster into part of the joke.

This show, they said, was about identity, about our clown not having a clue who the hell he is or where he belongs. From Belfast but without ‘that’ accent, claiming to be Italian but only fluent in pasta names, residing in England but ready to root for anyone going up against them.

The first half, a wild ride through the twisted world of football, especially the madness of Euro 2020. But it was the second half, where the real magic happened. The revelation of his ADHD diagnosis, and how it laid bare the mysteries of his life choices, was a joyous journey.

They say a lot about the “tricky second album,” and I thought about using that tired phrase after reading some other reviews. But honestly, it just doesn’t apply here. This was an hour of comedy that left you feeling like you’d been through a hurricane, led by a clown who, by his own admission, found more solace on the stage than in the real world.

Oh, and because I’d like Vittorio to not be completely on his own when he next uses this show’s opening, here is the video that explains the title – https://shorturl.at/inxSV

Clown Stars * * * * *

@Monkey Barrel, Edinburgh