Al Pitcher – Tiny Triumphs

“I think we all take things for granted,” says Al Pitcher at the start of this quirky life-affirming set. “I think we all see triumphant things every day”. Thus starts a trip through the eponymous ‘tiny triumphs’ the comedian has witnessed in the preceding hours, days and weeks in Edinburgh and beyond.

Much of the hour is taken up with flicking through a series of his latest photographs. Refreshingly, the snaps are simply projected onto a screen with none of the bells and whistles beloved of so many PowerPoint-obsessed comics.

Even the most prosaic subjects become amusing when viewed through Pitcher’s active imagination. It’s a world where a covered bike becomes a baby elephant and a simple piece of graffiti inspires a tall tale.

The strongest routines are when the likable Kiwi addresses pictures taken on the same day as the show and his more prepared material fails to elicit as many laughs – the traditional standup tropes lack the simple immediacy of familiar Edinburgh sights given a comic slant.

It's a novel structure, meaning the show should be substantially different each day, giving a satisfying feeling of experiencing something unique. It concludes with audience members being given the chance to become a ‘tiny triumph’ themselves – it’s heartwarming, but the laughs don’t come quite often enough to make it truly triumphant.