Show 14: James Meehan: Gaz

Former member of 'Gein's Family Giftshop', James Meehan, had done an Edinburgh show in previous years but I hadn't managed to catch him, so I thought I'd give him a watch this year.

This is a pretty straightforward show but it touches on some very sensitive, personal subjects, handled deftly by Meehan, who's clearly spent a lot of time and emotional growth to confront good past experiences and to grow.

In this show, Meehan talks about being a working class guy and still feeling working class, growing up in a rough estate with a pretty tough childhood in an environment with domestic abuse trying to dodge the local thugs, and opening up about his past troubled relationship with an unnamed performer and former fellow member of Gein's Family Giftshop (though the internet suggests it was Kiri Pritchard McLean) and how he spent months holed up in his flat and, for some bizarre reason, learnt how to be a professional barber.

It isn't a gloomy show, though; there's a strong feeling of optimism, love and hope pervading throughout, and he even says he's forgiven his former partner for all her past, what sounds like, quite demeaning, brutal behaviour. His quiet, gentle, humble calm gives rise to some smart, self deprecating jokes, including a charming anecdote when he sat-in on an in-depth conversation between former Cambridge guys, Phil Wang and Pierre Novellie, about the Zulu wars and his only bit of shared knowledge came from having watched the film Zulu.

There's a trend now in comedy towards honest shows about personal troubles, and it's possible for it to become too self-loathing, too alienating and uncomfortable, but Meehan manages to make a touching show that comes from the heart.

Score: 7/10

Venue: Just the Tonic at The Caves

Dates: 10^th-26^th August (not 13^th)

Time: 18:00

Price: £5 or pay what you want