Steve Hall: Zebra

It always adds a certain frisson to a gig when someone storms off. Which particular straw did it for that camel? Will the comic try to win them back? “I promise that was the rudest bit in the show,” pleads Steve Hall, not particularly desperately, as two older ladies flounce out after an admittedly spicy section. “Actually, the next bit might have sent them off as well,” he grins, as the door bangs behind them.

Hall is hardly the edgiest comic at the Fringe, but then perhaps that’s how those ladies ended up here: someone told them that this is largely a poignant show about parenthood.

The Hertfordshire comic is best known as the relatively normal one from Fringe stalwarts We Are Klang, but they fizzled out after a BBC series didn’t work, since when Hall, ironically, has been doing lots of writing at the BBC. Zebra is his first Edinburgh show for four years, and it’s a curious mix of sentiment and a man enjoying the freedom to swear again.

He insists early on that this isn’t a "new father" show, but he does bang on about how lovely his daughter is, a lot. And while the visual aids are nice, more variety would be useful, so he isn’t just showing a paying audience his baby pictures for ages. On the other hand, there are some fine gags and a couple of hilarious visual reveals, plus some well-placed vulgarity. Eventually it becomes apparent which demographic this show is perfectly suited for: exasperated new parents. If only they could get a babysitter.