This is a clown we’ve wanted to see for quite a while. Unfortunately, we’ve never quite been able to get the timings right. We’d heard excellent things about his abstract takes, and I’m thrilled to say that, though this marked a change of direction into more ‘straightforward’ stand-up, we were not disappointed.

Trying to describe John-Luke Roberts is an interesting challenge. I’ve landed on this: imagine Toast of London being cast as a 90s kids’ TV presenter. (That isn’t meant to be a knock – we were actually quite jealous of his Sonic the Hedgehog T-shirt.)

This show is still a lesson in the absurd, from supporting babies crying on planes to a critique of the Skechers slip-on trainer campaign, which promotes never having to reach for your shoes again as an unexpected life goal. It’s all the funnier when you’re sat next to someone actually wearing a pair!

There’s a brilliantly daft routine summarising Freudian versus Jungian psychology – who is responsible for our behaviour, parents or goblins? – before we get to the crux of the show: our clown’s recent health scare and the death of a close friend. This bring a little more reality into proceedings, and a surprisingly emotional counterpoint.

This was a less abstract hour than we’d come to expect from this clown’s reputation, but the change in style into something more conversational did nothing to diminish the quality or the enjoyment we got from the show.

A thoroughly enjoyable hour from a wonderfully strange comedian who has clearly mastered the art of making the ridiculous feel completely reasonable.

Clown Stars: * * * *

@Monkey Barrel, Edinburgh