When I walk into a Fringe show and see a flipchart on stage, dread always washes over me. Picture this: a child-sized paddling pool, jugs of water and that flipchart comprise Robin Dale’s set for What Does Stuff Do?, an unpolished show which presents an array of juggling and ping-pong tricks accompanied by a perplexing narrative. Despite the unease caused by his toplessness, Dale has a warmth about him which easily brings his audience onside. Yet, the accompanying self-deprecation when things go wrong (and they go wrong quite frequently) only heightens the cringeworthy-viewing experience.

The self-effacing extends to fundamental flaws in the show’s material and structure and he divulges that he didn’t even want to perform one trick after writing it in, hence the need for a guest juggler. Despite his flair for ping-pong, Dale is distractingly unconvinced by his own show, but his likeability drives us to want him to find faith in it. 

Alongside the ad-hoc commentary, Dale insists on lecturing his audience about the relationship between objects and their behaviours. He has memorised a theoretical essay word-for-word which unfortunately eliminates the magic of circus. As he declares his theory of ‘tool-becoming’, he tells a rather dumbfounded audience that he is ‘a tool for facilitating [our] laughter’. Whether this laughter stems from an authentic place or out of discomfort is another story. 

What Does Stuff Do?, ZOO Playground, until 27 August, 3.15pm.