I've previously dismissed Ignacio Lopez as a little lightweight, a crowd-pleasing stand-up for sure, but one generally content to trade in superficial observations about the British from his perspective as an amiable Mallorcan émigré. However, despite having enjoyed a bit of mainstream success recently, appearing on the likes of Have I Got News For You and Live At The Apollo, his comedy has begun shifting in a more interesting, personal direction. His previous show, about his obsessive devotion to the band Nine Inch Nails was a bit of a misfire in expressing his internal malaise, a little too cult perhaps. But with Señor Self-Destruct, he's found an approach that really works for him.

I hesitate to be seen to commend him simply for sharing his depression and touching on suicidal ideation, playing into prejudice about critics loving shows that reveal the sad clown. But there's a lot to be said for truly baring one's soul, and Lopez artfully articulates his through his love of horror movies, a much more relatable metaphor than the niche NIN. On the one hand, it affords him some generic inspiration for some silly set-pieces and prompts a warm, chatty section of the show in which he engages with the crowd's favourite creepy movies. His own lodestar is A Nightmare On Elm Street, with Spanish permissiveness about what children are permitted to see inspiring a big, brash act out of over-the-top reactions from outraged British box office staff.

More importantly though, the horror motif really conveys the existential struggles of his neurodiversity and mental health, providing a compelling offset to his more frivolous thoughts on the booziness and boorishness of Brits at home and abroad.

Ignacio Lopez: Señor Self-Destruct tours until May 2025; reviewed at The Glee Club, Glasgow, as part of Glasgow International Comedy Festival; main picture: Michelle Huggleston.