No pretensions

N20 Comedy Festival
BAC, 176 Lavender Hill SW11

One day, as Russell Kane walked to Stockwell Tube station, he was provided with an unlikely Eureka! moment. Two people passed each other; one ostentatiously talking on her mobile phone, the other wearing a poncho. From this, the wildly energetic standup came up with his Theory Of Pretension - the show he'll be taking to the Edinburgh Festival that pokes fun at the loft conversion-dwelling, hummus-eating crowd.

Tonight's preview kicks off a monthlong series of Edinburgh dry runs that BAC has dressed up under it's N20 festival banner (the N20 in the title alludes to laughing gas).

After Kane, the line-up gets even better; Natalie Haynes drags herself away from watching Murder She Wrote, Ironside, Columbo et al to preview Watching The Detectives (Jul 14 and 15); Richard Herring talks about being single in Ménage à Un, his 21st Edinburgh show (Jul 13); Book Club host Robin Ince gets philosophical on the pointlessness of possessions, based on the time his flat was flooded with sewage (Jul 29).

There are also shows from deliciously wry former Popworld presenter Simon Amstell (Jul 14, 21 and 28), Mel Giedroyc's former partner-in-crime Sue Perkins (Aug 1) and the everpopular Bill Bailey (Aug 1 to 3).

Work outside the stand-up format is also on the bill - theatrical offerings include The Receipt, the interesting piece from 2004's Perrier winner Will Adamsdale (Jul 21 to 23), and comedian/animator Howard Reeves pops up with a kids' version (ie, minus the rude bits) of his cracking Little Howard show (Jul 30). If you've missed other previews around town and can't get to the imminent Edinburgh Festival, this BAC series provides a digestible taster of what you're missing.

Tonight and in rep until Aug 3, BAC, 176 Lavender Hill SW11, various times, £10, £6 concs. Tel: 020 7223 2223. www.bac.org.uk Rail: Clapham Junction