Glenn Moore: Glengarry Glen Glenn

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Glenn Moore is the sort of comedian that you wouldn't mind watching for hours, slightly disengaged from proceedings but knowing if you tune back in he'll have just delivered another zinger. His is a benign and comforting comic presence: he's not going to bite, he's just going to crowbar a pun into a personal anecdote.

In what makes for a polished debut hour, Moore nails his persona from the get-go. He deals in cute wordplay and contrived middle class repression. It's the "posh people are hopelessly aloof" schtick you've seen plenty of times before, but to have such a sure-footed comic identity established so early takes skill in itself. 

The show is a blend of autobiographical tales and surrealist puns that don't always gel seemlessly. At times, the switches between gravity and levity undermine the reflective tone he's trying to create. Still, he's as good as any on the circuit with the throwaway chuckles ("I call my stepfather my 'fake dad', or my 'faux-pa'"). He's constantly throwing curveballs with the punchlines, which keeps you on your toes the moment an anecdote is starting to sound too long-winded – but after a while you begin to expect them and the surprise is lost. 

It's mightily impressive for his first full hour of material, and there's obvious craft behind his storytelling. Even if they can see the cogs turning a little too much at times, the audience is still won over.