Luca Cupani: God Digger

• Suzanne Black
• 6 August 2018

This article is from 2018.

Some original material can't mask a lack of punch

Luca Cupani has such an infectious smile that it's difficult not to get swept up in his comedy. He covers fairly conventional subjects like his relationship with his parents, his efforts to start a business, and how he proposed to his girlfriend – all from the perspective of how the Catholic faith intersects with his life, a fresh take on well-trodden topics that serves him well.

Cupani offers an introduction to Catholicism for those in the audience who are not in the know, and his gentle riffing on the absurdities of Bible stories and the weird and violent lives of the saints, mixed with the difficulties of navigating through life while trying to avoid sin, are pleasingly different. His stories about his complex relationship with – whisper it – pornography are surprisingly endearing and his charm, combined with self-effacement, make for a perfectly agreeable hour. The material on his lack of success as an actor – up to now – is both inventive and polished.

Cupani, who won So You Think You're Funny in 2015, has skills, evinced by the fact that he manages to introduce the topic of death without killing the mood, but a lack of overall structure and a flagging final 20 minutes let him down.

Underbelly, George Square, until 27 Aug, 5.20pm, £9–£10 (£8–£9).