Steve Bugeja: Day Release

What happens when an already socially awkward man finds himself driving the father of the girl he loves, on day release from prison, to her wedding to another man? You'll find the answer in this touching and funny show, which takes a roomful of people on a most surprising road trip.

Bugeja is an oddball of a man, which he explains by way of 10 introductory facts about himself at the top of the show. It's a helpful device that not only warms up the room but sets the scene and introduces us to this geeky, studious and slightly socially inept man – one half of the odd couple that star in his tale. It also starts the rhythm of peppy laughs that continue uninterrupted throughout. 

It's a fascinating tale, and a very personal one, as Bugeja finds himself repeatedly going against his own personal ethos – "Don't do things you're scared of". And this is a man scared of many things. Bugeja keeps his audience rapt, sharing his discomfort at the peer pressure to go on the stag do, his terror at meeting this man he is to spend three hours in a car with, and just what came from that drive in terms of Bugeja's own personal growth and view of the world. The detail is delicious, and the laughs warm steadily while Bugeja shares his story with unabashed honesty. An uplifting treat.