'We haven't even flirted with the line yet' warns Danielle Ward as one joke gets a hesitant reaction. She isn't lying; the rest of Ward's material, all rapidly told, invokes death by decapitation, the sex drive of a Siamese twin and some depressing revelations about her own late blooming. But then this is a comedian who comperes her own comedy night entitled Freakshow, and has written for enough political comedy shows to be a self-confessed cynic.

The subject matter may be dark, but it's all told with charming enthusiasm which makes segues from depression to the length of consciousness of a severed head seem like children's story time. Dressed like a schoolgirl and talking like a CBBC presenter only adds to the incongruity. Ward's strength is in the written word rather than performance, and clever wordplay takes the show beyond just another personal anecdote. Ward's observations are finely tuned, selected with just enough truth and wit to make all that line-flirting nearly acceptable.

Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, until 24 Aug (not 15), 10.45pm, £8.50–£9.50 (£7–£8).