Turbo-charged rant from Welsh Victor Meldrew

Rhod Gilbert
****

The sentence bandied about in the bars of Edinburgh over the past two weeks is "not a vintage year". There are a lot of good shows and few great ones but one that clearly stands out is Rhod Gilbert And The Award-Winning Mince Pie. It should surely be a contender when the prestigious if.comedy nominations are announced on Wednesday afternoon.

What is most remarkable about this tale of Victor Meldrewish apoplexy over a mysterious Christmas nibble in Knutsford Services is Gilbert's turbo-charged, full-pelt performance. For anyone who saw the Welshman in the past when he peddled surreal shaggy dog stories the change is breathtaking. Three years ago he stood and whispered, now he stalks the stage and shouts himself hoarse. It is as if Hank Marvin has mutated into Jimi Hendrix.

There are also magnificent jokes, as Gilbert gets increasingly exasperated by shops trying to sell him things he does not want and customer services that fail to provide any service for the customers. He is particularly good at painting evocative verbal pictures, describing rain-sodden pac-a-macked tourists as "shrink-wrapped gargoyles" and the tarting up of a spit-and-sawdust venue in Ebbw Vale like "putting lipstick on a pitbull". If the observational digressions are sometimes familiar - budget airlines, middle-aged decline, tortuous relationships - Gilbert always comes up with an outstanding one-liner to raise the roof. And while other comics can tend towards smugness he does not shy away from being the butt of the joke. There may be nothing life-changingly profound here, yet as a comedy show that simply knocks you over by sheer force of humour this is certainly going to take some beating.

Until 25 August (0131 226 0000, www.edfringe.com).