Stuart Mitchell: mis-lit and fingertips

Stuart Mitchell lost the tips of two of his fingers aged five. In his new hour at the Pleasance – Dealt a Bad Hand – this is just the first in a litany of personal tragedies that he lets us in on. His mother took her own life when he was seven. His father died of cancer last year. And he’s long struggled with depression. ‘Dead dad’ shows have become a Fringe cliché in recent years. But while Mitchell is fully aware of the trappings – he jokes about offering audiences a bumper deal on comedy mis-lit – he still falls into all of them. This otherwise pedestrian set, replete with Mock the Week-level one-liners and puns, is lent false depth by the personal tragedies which frame it. By ‘opening up’ about his troubled life, Mitchell only reveals his own limitations.

Tom Slater is deputy editor at spiked. Follow him on Twitter: @Tom_Slater_

Stuart Mitchell: Dealt a Bad Hand is at the Pleasance Courtyard until 28 August.