The macabre ukulele-based songs of The Idiot Circus are soaked in gin, tinged with murder and have a hint of haunted Victorian sadness. This cabaret act definitely feels like it belongs in the vaudeville-esque charm of Assembly’s Piccolo Tent. 

The performers arrive on stage, one of them dressed as a goat-man complete with furry legs and an elaborate headpiece, like a Latvian Eurovision act circa 2002. The first song, ‘Showbiz’, is an upbeat number that hooks the crowd. Each one that follows is a story of death in some form, told with flamboyance and 19th-century aplomb. There’s a bit of weirdness for the sake of weirdness (bananas consumed copiously by a glockenspiel-playing man, ghosts wandering through the audience) and existential comedic banter between songs feels like it’s merely a formality to tick the funny box. 

^{Picture: Melissa Stephens}

But the songs themselves, with their spooky fairground melodies and twinges of minor-chord melancholy, really make the show come alive. There’s barely a foot not tapping along in the room while more mournful numbers elicit a smattering of goosebumps at the refrain. It helps that the lead singer’s voice is exceptional, performing some particularly impressive vocal gymnastics during a graveyard-themed solo number. 

Assembly George Square Gardens, until 28 August, 8.55pm.