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Here is one of the most interesting things that Edinburgh has thrown up this year. A monologue about sex, written by an anonymous woman, read by a comedian who has not seen the script until it is handed to him onstage. Nish Kumar and Marcus Brigstocke have already done it and on the night I was in James Acaster was the plucky stand-up stepping out of his comfort zone. 

How far out of their comfort zone they are going is questionable though. Comedians may well be as good, if not better, than actors at this sort of unrehearsed performance. It is arguably easier that Set List, where they actually have to come up with new gags on the hoof. At least they have a script here. 

And if in doubt they can always fall back on their obvious wits. While the monologue is not strictly a comedy there are plenty of laughs in it. And Acaster added more of his own. When somebody laughed at the word “Vagina” he warned the audience that given the subject matter the word would probably be cropping up again. Elsewhere when he stumbled over the word “similarly” he started to wonder aloud whether he had been saying the word correctly in the past.

But I’d better not say too much about the script in case future performers read this review and get some advance tips. I noticed Nish Kumar in the audience looking smug as he knew what was coming. I also spotted Daniel Kitson there and briefly wondered whether he was the writer. But while the identity is unknown we have been told that it is definitely a woman - she does not want to be named because she doesn’t want to be known as a “sex writer”. She also stipulated that a man had to perform it in a kind of role-reversal see-how-they-handle-it jobs-for-the-boys piece of casting.

And this, kind of gets to the nub of the monologue. Female sexuality is such an oblique, elliptical untalked-about thing that any woman that discusses it gets known for discussing it. The way cultural norms allow men and women to talk about sex seems to be distinctly different. As one section has it, men can happily compare masturbation stories, but if women do it they are really going out on a limb, even if, according to the writer, most women masturbate.

There is some great writing here. Whoever penned this is clearly an author who has thought a lot about the subject. I presume it isn't EL James. They also probably relish the freedom of anonymity, which allows them to reveal their sexual history and their deepest fantasies without being judged directly. They also spill the beans on their trade secret for working out if they are truly attracted to someone.

As I said, spoilers might actually spoil it for the next performer as much as for the next audience member. So instead I’ll just say grab a ticket if you can. This is being developed in collaboration with the Royal Court so it will probably come to London at some point. In fact it would be great to see this more than once just to see how different comics tackle the tricky terrain. People always trot out the cliche that you have to be brave to be a stand-up. Maybe you do have to be even braver to be a stand-up who performs Manwatching. 

Also August 19 with a special guest and on Aug 21 with Nick Helm. Tickets here.