Andy Parsons: Gruntled

There's a very distinctive metre found in Medieval poetry, and extensively in works like Beowulf, in which a line is split into two thumping halves. It has, in those witty academic circles, sometimes been summarised as "bang bang; bang crash". It's also a convenient template for any number of Parsons' jokes: with about as much subtlety as a nine-pound hammer, the regular on TV's Mock the Week bashes and crashes through a series of obvious and unenlightening topical punchlines ("bankers are shit") and say-what-you-see political commentary.

On one hand, it's tough to criticise what Parsons does. Perhaps it's no bad thing that there's someone willing to stand on stage and spell out in BIG BOLD LETTERS the unfairnesses and inequalities of our society. But, then again, so obvious are these injustices that what's more urgently needed is a sharper, more subtle wit to thoroughly lampoon the world. Though, admittedly, much more likeable in the flesh than on the box, Parsons simply doesn't display that wit in Gruntled.

But perhaps most unforgivable is that, bizarrely, Parsons' live standup is actually less topical than his recorded panel show appearances. The man has clearly prepared an hour of material and, dammit, jokes about Christine O'Donnell (remember her?) are staying in. With performers right across the Fringe serving up topical comedy, it's hard to see where Parsons' old news fits in. An experienced performer, Parsons certainly knows how to hold an audience, but much of the hour he has them for is just observation. Without the comedy.