Storytellers' Club

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Storytellers' Club, created and hosted by Australian comedian Sarah Bennetto, provides a relaxed alternative to some of the more chaotic late-night shows on offer at the Edinburgh Fringe.

The audience are quickly made to feel at home in the surroundings of The Green (a large inflatable igloo), helped along by a faux-log fire. (The small, hard plastic stools, however, ensure that the audience don't get so comfortable that they nod off after a long day at the Fringe.)

Each night the show features several guest performers, all asked to tell a short story on a particular theme. On the evening of this review, the theme was 'worst ever jobs'.

James Dowdeswell told a tale of an inappropriately-sponsored gig attended by a group from a local rehab centre. Meryl O'Rourke's story of working on the breakfast show of a local radio station at times seemed too bad to be true (decide for yourself whether Craig David or Darius proved to be the more amiable guest). It was Aisling Bea's drawn-out but hugely enjoyable tale of working as a Christmas elf in a temporary 'toy factory' which stole the show, however; storytelling par excellence.

The success of shows like this will always depend on the guests on the night, but Storytellers' Club is definitely worth a visit at its year-round residency at the Pleasance Islington.

- Emma Watkins