Review: Comedy Reserve, Pleasance Dome (venue 23)

There are four very different comics on the Charlie Harthill Comic Reserve list. MC is Suzy Benett, a forceful girl. John Kearns has come in character (at least, for his sake, I hope it is a character) with the simmering irritability of Gryff Rhys Jones and the voice of Joe Pasquale.* * *

He alienates the front row with what they perceive to be racist remarks. By the time he has shrieked through a set about being the last surviving passenger from the Titanic, I am feeling fairly alienated.

Next up is Chris Turner, who loves proverbs and puns and is pretty smart with the latter. His brother’s superpower has gone into my 2012 Top 10 gags. He also makes the most unlikely rapper on any block, but does so while improvising from audience suggestions. Best of the bunch is Matt Rees, a lugubrious Welshman – a “miserable bastard” by his own admission. Gentle, genial everyday stuff like supermarket shopping, his parents’ sex life and kebab shops make a solidly funny set. His stuff about refillable cups and Sherlock Holmes’s catchphrase are quite brilliant. I’d love to see more of this comic.

Until 27 August. Today 9:30pm.