James Acaster, Pleasance Courtyard - review - Comedy - Arts

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Names creating an early buzz include Nick Helm, Humphrey Ker and fresh-faced James Acaster, who looks as if he would have difficulty getting served in the venue bar but had no difficulty serving up a hit last night that is delightfully whimsical, deliciously daft and no slouch in the surprises department.

Acaster's full-length debut celebrates those things in life that make one smile. Seeing the sea, pranks, getting your pound back from shopping trolleys. The excitable comic has charming gags and a winning way of miming his pay-offs. On discussing a friend who crept up on a couple at a party, he sneaks silently around the stage.

Recalling a football chant, he breaks into a nutty interpretative dance.

This streak of playfulness makes his show consistently comical. An anecdote about parachuting while strapped to someone's back contains few actual jokes yet Acaster's glee in telling it means one hardly notices the punchline paucity. Besides, how can one not love a monologue that ends with a teddy bear knitted by the star's mum taking centre stage? A show about unexpected delights that is an unexpected delight.

Until August 29 (0131 556 6550, edfringe.com)

James Acaster
Pleasance Courtyard