A shocking, unprovoked assault is seldom the starting point for most comedy hours, but this was precisely the case for actor and documentarian Kiran Deol. In December last year, Deol was attacked in Los Angeles by a man wielding a glass bottle, resulting in reconstructive plastic surgery on her face. But Deol refuses to be portrayed as a victim; in fact she claims that she’d rather be a villain, and Joysuck is the story of how she took control of a terrible situation. 

All this is not nearly as bleak as it may sound. There is slick albeit clichéd and conventional stand-up throughout, with jokes about LA, English weather and farting taking the edge off her heavier material. Unfortunately, the harrowing story and light-hearted comedy don’t always sit well together, and Joysuck can feel like two very different shows that have been squished together.

The big ‘twist’ that dominates the second half is that the police catch Deol’s attacker, and under Californian law she’s allowed a say in his fate. She now has the chance to be the villain she’s always wanted to be, but is that really who Deol is? This leads to the hour’s most interesting element, a discussion around how villainy and victimhood are fundamentally intertwined, and the audience are left with plenty to ponder. It’s a little frustrating to see Deol shoehorn in fairly banal comedy to an otherwise fascinating hour. She makes a joke about doing a TED Talk early on; perhaps that would have been a more effective format for this show.

Kiran Deol: Joysuck, Gilded Balloon Teviot, until 28 August, 9.40pm.