For his Apology Comeback Tour, Martin Urbano’s style sits on a similar spectrum of anti-comedy as Neil Hamburger or Tim Heidecker as he imbues his deliberately hackneyed material with a cringey and predatory undercurrent. What brings him bang up to date are the layers he adds to this character who has returned to the stage while a number of #MeToo allegations swirl around him. Meanwhile, his gags pander to the kind of red-pill swallowing keyboard warrior who’ll mainline 4chan forums with woman-hating glee.

It takes a lot of trust from an audience to follow Urbano down these irony-laden back alleys of sexual assault, misogyny and paedophilia. But his stomach-churning bleakness is helped by a knack for punchlines that act like blunt instruments (he can literally shock you into laughter) and a self-abasing quality that sidesteps any accusation that he may be revelling in all this unpleasantness. 

To quote one of the brazen clichés from his show, ‘it’s funny because it’s true.’ There are so many acts like this, particularly male US stand-ups, who’ve done something reprehensible and returned to the spotlight with barely a scratch on them. Witnessing Urbano use their ‘unapologetic’ sense of humour against them can be more than a little thrilling.

The edgelord schtick becomes more of a challenge when longer segments of his work explore unpleasant territory without his character to clearly moor him, as in a long routine about paedophilia which splits the room (for the record, I loved it). You may not like the character of Martin Urbano once this hour is up, but you’ll leave appreciating his audacious commitment to putting bad comedians through the wringer. 

Martin Urbano: Apology Comeback Tour, Pleasance Courtyard, until 27 August, 9.45pm.