Comedy review: Jim Tavaré: From Deadpan to Bedpan, Laughing Horse @ The Counting House

Returning to the Fringe for the first time in 20 years, Jim Tavaré has a compelling tale to share, his near-miraculous escape from a serious road accident in Los Angeles.

Jim Tavaré: From Deadpan to Bedpan, Laughing Horse @ The Counting House (Venue 170) ***

With no real memory of the incident, he’s nevertheless crafted an appealing yarn, beginning with a brief introduction to a performer who was once a deadpan mainstay of the UK comedy circuit, before breaking into television and movies on both sides of the Atlantic.

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Relating the events that led up to his crash in March last year, his horrific, multi­faceted injuries and slow, painful recovery are an altogether more amusing affair than someone who almost died three times in hospital has a right to command.

There are touching moments, as when Tavaré is reunited with his dog, and when he realises the esteem his fellow comics hold him in, organising benefits in the UK and US for his astronomical medical bills. Still, he seems justifiably peeved that a tour he was booked on referenced his crash in its advertising. Straightforwardly descriptive for the most part, Bedpan doesn’t push the boundaries of storytelling. But Tavaré has grasped a new career from death’s doorstep.

• Until 26 August, 4:15pm