After recently becoming a father to a boy, Chris Gethard has begun to reassess his relationship with his own dad. Aged 42, he happily recognises that he’s in the firm grip of a midlife crisis. This recently prompted him to become a volunteer ambulance driver in his home town in New Jersey, something to give his life more purpose than simply being a parent (and comedian, writer and actor).

After a long preamble, Gethard talks about the pressures of trying to successfully raise a young child, while analysing his own upbringing in a search for clues to good parenting. His fondness for dissection extends to evaluating the crowd’s response to jokes right after he’s told them, a process which only serves to impede the momentum he’s built.

Unfortunately, many of Gethard’s stories, while well told, are entirely unembellished with jokes. He explains (at length) the difference between US public service broadcasting and cable TV in order to set up a routine about Sesame Street, but it’s just dry exposition without any gags. There are some nice moments in A Father And The Sun, including a joyously cathartic public outing of his school bully, but it could do with a little less analysis and a bit more humour. 

Gilded Balloon Teviot, until 28 August, 6pm.