Iain Stirling and Sean McLoughlin

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Fresh-faced friends Iain Stirling and Sean McLoughlin combine here to create an evening of enjoyable, clever and—most importantly—funny standup. Gangly and self-effacing, McLoughlin opens proceedings with 25 minutes of nicely constructed material with an effortless style of delivery that's a joy to watch. That said, he comments far too often on the quality of his own jokes, despite the fact that none of them fall flat.

It's a common trap many young comedians fall prey to but, when not so self-conscious, there are flashes of a talented, charismatic standup with great one-liners and a good command of the stage. He just needs to trust his own abilities; there aren't really any misfires in his set, but it would be much slicker without the running commentary.

Stirling is just as strong, with energetic charm and a tendency to get overexcited. In normal circumstances, the sight of a comic laughing at his own jokes can be hugely irritating, but Stirling's giggles are all part of the package. Whipping through digs at politicians, general musings and commenting on the deep-fried Scottish cuisine, his set is permeated with wickedly funny impersonations (despite a truly awful Australian accent) and is only hampered by the fact that he shares McLoughlin's habit of referencing his own material.

If a joke goes well, there's no need to point it out. If a joke goes badly, for god's sake keep going. Despite this, Stirling and McLoughlin deliver a strong hour, marking themselves out as promising prospects for the future.