Aatif Nawaz: Aatificial Intelligence

Aatif Nawaz has the ideal forename for Fringe comedy. Not only does it throw up this show’s titular pun, which he’s terribly proud of, but he’s also pretty much the first entry in the Fringe Guide’s alphabetical comedy section that isn’t just someone shouting "Aaaaaargh!"

Nawaz needn’t be so needy, having already made his name with last year’s well-received Muslims Do it Five Times a Day, which mocked the demonisation of Islam while also poking fun at fellow believers. Since then he’s appeared regularly on radio and TV, notably the inflammatory Channel 4 documentary What British Muslims Really Think, which he subsequently rebuked in a Guardian column.

That controversy would have made a fertile theme for this follow-up show, and Nawaz does initially announce that Aatificial Intelligence is about dodgy journalism. Bizarrely, though, it’s a subject he barely returns to, instead embarking on random anecdotes about, for example, a Houston casino, which lacks a decent punchline.

There’s a strong sense here of a comic expecting a triumphant return, then realising all-too-late that he burned up years of material on the previous show. He even throws in some hackneyed old bus jokes, which smack of desperation. The show’s title is arguably its best gag.

And yet if Nawaz is panicking it rarely shows; his upbeat crowd work largely keeps them onside, so there’s room for manoeuvre. A rushed audience-participation section could use more leisurely riffing, while he shouldn’t be afraid to explore those serious themes, even if it means long gaps between laughs. Enjoy the silence.