Lawrence unto himself

Andrew Lawrence's distinctive stand-up persona takes a bit of getting used to

His ginger hair is dishevelled, his voice is weird and croaky, he talks of matricide, abuse, abandonment and cannibalism and he usually carries around a guitar.

An act so freakish and offbeat could have died a death long ago, but Lawrence somehow gets it right: he's a super performer capable of sucking an audience into whatever dark yarn he spins.

For proof, look no further than the fact that he won the BBC New Comedy Award in 2004 (a gong that's also been awarded to Mighty Boosher Julian Barratt, Marcus Brigstocke and Dan Antopolski). If you like Chris Morris or The League Of Gentlemen, you'll probably find Lawrence is to your taste.

Over the past couple of years the 26-year-old has been a regular in London's clubs, occupying a gap somewhere between stand-up and character comedy.

In August he takes his first full-length solo show to the Edinburgh festival - and, remaining true to form, he's charmingly called it How To Butcher Your Loved Ones.

Tonight he'll be road-testing what he has prepared of the show so far: which more than likely means a slightly unsettling evening of misery, twisted logic and hatred that you'll either love or hate.

But rest assured, it comes from one of the most talented and original acts on the circuit.