Andy Zaltzman: Armchair Revolutionary

Perhaps best known for his onstage and on-air partnership with The Daily Show's John Oliver, Andy Zaltzman returns to Edinburgh with yet another hour of political satire and daft surrealism. But before things can get started, backstage in his dressing room, a terrible tragedy has befallen the "qualified satirist". In a bizarre archery accident, an arrow has pierced the exact area of Zaltzman's brain responsible for puns, introspection and political comedy. What's worse, he has been left with only 66 minutes to live.

Unfortunately, Zaltzman's real problem is that much of the set is essentially just phoned in. As is perhaps the satirists' curse, he too often descends into merely spewing low-brow, simplistic rhetoric in place of actually telling jokes. "Capitalism's broken, isn't it?" "That government are a rotten lot!" "Silvio Berlusconi, eh?" This may draw Pavlovian applause from the militant lefties in the back, but no one else is all that responsive.

It's a shame because, when he gets going, Zaltzman is a compelling performer capable of great linguistic dexterity. Anyone who regularly listens to his hit comedy podcast The Bugle will be all too familiar with his infamous "pun runs", which are brought out to great effect (and groans) on several occasions. Indeed, as Zaltzman drops his political proselytising and allows himself time to be just plain silly, he really wins the audience over. As the laughs get louder, these segments so obviously save the show; it's a shame Zaltzman doesn't bring them out more frequently.