Structurally, Irene Woo’s Golden Child has everything you want from a solid stand-up set: a main thread driving the narrative (what happened at her brother’s wedding), call-backs to Dungeons & Dragons and a circular close, coming back to one of the funniest lines about how French people pronounce LinkedIn. But it never quite delivers a proper punch. The funniest and most interesting anecdotes cover Woo’s time working as a software engineer at Google, and when we get the smallest peek at what working days might be like there, you can feel the audience leaning in. 

While Golden Child is a nice break from the in-your-face, desperately edgy comedy sets that tend to pack out the Fringe, an inherent politeness makes it feel like Woo is holding back. The material feels overly comfortable with no big surprises: Google engineers lack social skills, French people are rude, and performing at the Fringe costs a lot of money. Woo does have a charming and engaging presence, though, and by her own admission she’s new to stand-up comedy. Once she finds the material that makes her stand out, she may well be unstoppable. We’re rooting for her, especially since we know how much her Fringe run costs, voice coach and all.   

Irene Woo: Golden Child, Just The Tonic Mash House, until 30 August, 5.55pm; picture: Thomas Moore.