Review by Marissa Burgess

Michael Fabbri’s second Edinburgh show doesn’t lay claim to any particular theme. Indeed the programme blurb promises ‘comedy ramblings’ and sure enough that’s what you get.

Employing an easy, laid back demeanour, a large chunk of the show revolves around his previous job working in a Job Centre in Camberwell, South London. Given the stressful nature of that job, his laid-back approach was probably a blessing.

It was an occupation so ripe with material, he notes, that there’s no need to make any of it up. There’s the man who chopped up his wife and went on the run – only pausing to sign on, the paedophile he had to construct a CV for and the deluded fella who was keen to start his own business making the elderly young again. Most of the tales are interesting, but more likely to raise gentle chuckles than belly laughs.

As these entertaining stories come to an end, Fabbri then kicks in with more solid material. Here there are inventive, off-kilter routines on cats with crucifixes, friends who form relationships akin to bacteria, and an embarrassing penile condition. Plus he ventures into more taboo areas as he describes visiting his girlfriend’s gran hours after she passed away.

Overall it’s a mixed set from the Brighton-based comedian, but an entertaining one nevertheless.

Review date: 24 Aug 2009
Reviewed by: Marissa Burgess