It all starts with the arresting scene of Kerry Gilbert dragging onto the stage a heavy suitcase before she then unpacks it, revealing the outfits and props with which she will conduct her solo hour of character comedy. There’s barely anything which follows this simple yet effective gesture that comes close to it for theatrical ingenuity. Forced under the umbrella title of Gives Love a Bad Name, Gilbert’s creations are a pretty sorry bunch, none of whom are even remotely lucky in affairs of the heart. There are the tales of two grieving women, one whose partner died after over-indulging in his favourite seafood down at the Crab Shack while the other’s husband has been turned into a zombie as mutant flesh-eaters roam the streets of Britain.

Both of these scenarios have a dark pleasure to them, but characters such as the crone dumbing down the plots of her favourite films and the Edith Piaf-style chanteuse are charmless on their first foray and irritating by their ill-advised returns. Kerry Gilbert has bags of actorly talent which will hopefully take her to a new level once a better script presents itself.

Underbelly, 08445 458 252, until 29 Aug, 2.15pm, £9–£10 (£8–£9).