Graters: Julian Ignores His Friend and Talks To A Pretty Girl

James wants to be a stand up. Julian calls himself an entertainer and cheerfully ditches his friend to talk to two women in the pub. Played out to the side of this tableau – one that remains on the stage throughout - are Julian's 'crap' ideas that he is pitching to the women. It's an ambitious idea for framing what is ostensibly a sketch show with a fundamental flaw - they are effectively saying that all the sketches that make up the vast majority of the show are shit from the get go. In fact most are simply not great, though there are a few exceptions, a crap friend delivering a funeral eulogy, a man on an expedition decides to eat his dead friend and a song that is pitched just the right side of uncomfortable. But the performances smack of a lack of rehearsal, they're clunky and the in the dramatic silences you're not entirely sure whether one of the actors has forgotten their lines. It could be a lot better than it is.

Underbelly, 0844 545 8252, until 26 Aug (not 13), 11.50am, ￡8.50-￡9.50 (£9.50-£10.50)