Fran Moulds: Significant Human Error

A member of Radio 4 favourites Umbrella Birds, Fran Moulds is aptly named. Not because she is covered in fungus, but because she possesses the ability to craft a diverse range of characters with such convincing ease that her own personality seems almost non-existent. She's an exemplary character comedian, but could be accused of demonstrating her versatility at the expense of garnering big laughs.

Significant Human Error comprises six dysfunctional characters and builds steadily in quality as it progresses. Samantha Powell, a guide in a disused Welsh mine turned visitor attraction, is a poor pick as our introduction to the show. Her involuntarily anti-Thatcher monologue, delivered from behind a curtain to a darkened room, comes too soon in the set and falls flat, Moulds having not done enough to gain the audience's trust by this point. The following Ryan Birdhouse, an Australian extreme sports enthusiast pitching to investors in his new DVD, however, is an instantly recognisable misogynist played with charming contempt.

As the audience warms to the performer, we are introduced to her most interesting creations, Sarah, a Bolton teenager recording a Youtube video diary about conversion to Islam, and broadsheet celebrity reporter Morgana Haught. Like all of Moulds' creations, these are innately flawed, vulnerable characters whose weaknesses reveal themselves as the sketches progress. On these occasions, however, the performer goes beyond precise observation and makes some interesting points about contemporary society. There's greatness to be found in Significant Human Error then, it just isn't as concentrated as one would hope.