0

	Pleasance Dome (venue website) Comedy 1-10, 13-17, 20-24 Aug, 11:00pm-12:00am
Recommended for age 16+ only.

The late-night comedy showcase is an Edinburgh staple. Comedians do their regular shows during the day or early evening, and then (perhaps after a mild libation) pitch up for a ten-minute turn as part of a line-up of Fringe talent. But Set List, which won one of our Editors’ Choice awards back in 2011, delivers a creative twist on this familiar format – mixing in a refreshing dose of genuine spontaneity and innovation.

The format sounds a risky one.  Arriving on stage, each comedian is handed a sheet of paper bearing selection of random and ridiculous themes. They have fifteen seconds to absorb that information, then straight away dive into a set improvised around those topics. A hat filled with audience suggestions is also involved. What could possibly go wrong?

Not much, according to FringeGuru’s comedy editor Craig Thomson. In his 2011 review, he remarked that Set List strips away the artifice of performance to reveal the comedian’s essential core. Perhaps that’s a little high-falutin’ for 11 o’clock at night – but he also reassured us that the results were brilliantly funny, with even the occasional mis-fires proving richly entertaining. Be warned though: we’re far from the only ones to have discovered Set List, so do book ahead.