Freddie Meredith: Need a Light? review – one hilarious hour of cringe

Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh Watching a man labouring to strike up conversations in the smoking area of a nightclub proves not just funny but also touching and uplifting Ever pretended to use your phone to avoid the shame of being Norman No-Mates at a party? Freddie Meredith’s new show is a 60-minute channelling of that experience, an hour-long cringe at a man labouring to strike up conversations in the smoking area of a nightclub. Meredith, a familiar face to viewers of Big Boys, Such Brave Girls and other TV series, has alighted on a familiar social type here, albeit one rarely so brilliantly depicted. His alter ego is a shy and insecure beta male desperately trying to look – well, alpha is out of his reach, but even basic social functioning would be an upgrade...