This review first appeared in the Evening Standard here.

In 2014 Dane Baptiste picked up an Foster’s Edinburgh Comedy Award nomination for best newcomer, becoming the first black Briton to make it onto the Foster’s shortlist. His sequel, Reasonable Doubts, justifies the buzz around this genial joker. The charismatic Londoner is quick to address the subject of race onstage, claiming that following his recent success he has surged up the black celebrity charts. While Idris Elba and Lenny Henry jostle for pole position he jokes that he is nestled just below Tinie Tempah’s barber.

It is a quip that neatly encapsulates his style. In a brisk, wide-ranging show he establishes a serious point then peels it back to find the playful laugh within. He does it with race and also subjects as diverse as sex, charity, vegetarianism and Islamic State. Often Baptiste will present these set-pieces as mini-conversations, acting out both sides. It is a simple, effective technique, particularly when he recalls his adolescence and plays both his lusty and geeky self or when he imagines a tussle to be biblical top dog between Adam and Jesus.

Sometimes the gags are not as groundbreaking as Baptiste would like to think. He is hardly the first commentator to note that marriage vows were easier to stick to when life expectancy was 40 rather than 80. But he is a stylish performer who invariably hits the funny bone. At the moment he is very good. He could be a great Dane.

More about Dane Baptiste here.