It’s not been a good couple of years for Markus Birdman. Last year’s show was about how at the age of 40 he had a stroke. This year his material comes from the fact that he has just split from his partner of 14 years and is heartbroken.

The recency and the pain of this split are clear and comments such as 'we just couldn’t find our way back to each other' leave a lump in the throat. However this is not a mawkish show and like all good performers he has mined the depths of his despair for our entertainment. At his strongest his dissection of his failings as an individual and partner are funny and refreshing, but his more general material on the differences between men and women lacks bite. Although rooted in his own experience there is an overfamiliarity about many of the jokes which robs the show of its individuality.

The hour flies by and Birdman is an engaging guide through his personal turmoil; while he doesn’t quite soar he doesn’t crash into a window either.

The Stand II, 558 7272, until 25 Aug, 9.30pm, £8 (£7).