Fringereviews

point-scoring rather than a punchline. But hers is topical, relevant stand-up, with the prickly feeling of a mixedrace woman educating a predominantly white audience about elements of black culture and even British Imperialism that they’re perhaps unfamiliar with.

Still finding her register, Kugblenu projects the sense of a performer who knows what she is trying to achieve, with plenty of potential as she hones her raw talent. JAY RICHARDSON Assembly Rooms (Venue 20) JJJJ Spike Milligan once quipped: “What’s the difference between Frank Carson and the M1? You can turn off the M1.”

Milligan was referring to the late Irish comedian’s reputation for always being “on”, even in real life. He was an enigma. Interviews with him revealed nothing about the man behind the incessant barrage of gags. He could be exhausting.

But he was also very funny, a consummate gag-man. The real Frank Carson, though, what was he like?

This surprisingly tender one-man show, written by and starring Dan Gordon, suggests that Carson used comedy to escape from the pain and horror he’d endured.