Taking Liberties

Leaping on stage in surely the reddest trousers at the Fringe, semi-Scot Sanderson Jones has the demeanour of a kids entertainer running down the last few months of his contract, or the science teacher you love to bits in the classroom but know you should steer well away from in the street. By the end of this show, you might have concluded that Jones is either a revolutionary comic hiding his light under a heavily bearded bushel or the devil incarnate.

After a slow-burning and intermittently flat set about the often blurred lines between freedom of expression and the abuse of liberty, we are plunged into a comedic debate about the now-notorious image of a nude, heavily made-up, ten-year-old Brooke Shields. Given the jollity of what has come beforehand, this acts as a shock to the system but one which deliberately tests both the audience’s resilience and Jones’ case for freedom. With intense relief, he ends by utilising a picture of himself as a baby and we are sent off into the night with a grateful smile on our faces. In a Fringe rampant with flippancy, the not always successful Taking Liberties reminds us that the occasional comic might actually have something more vital to fling in our faces.

The GRV, 226 0000, until 29 Aug, 6.30pm, £5.