Patter, but not that for tiny feet

Tim Minchin @ the Gilded Balloon
Jeremy Lion @ the Pleasance

Edinburgh Fringe Festival: At last there is a buzz about something more than the unseasonably non-Arctic weather. Australian newcomer Tim Minchin is playing to huge crowds, thanks to a mix of word-of-mouth tips and boyish looks in a profession overstuffed with gargoyles.

Musical comedy is a love-it-or-loathe-it genre, but for fans they do not come funnier than this.

The bed-haired pianist's forte is infectiously silly pop in a Gilbert O'Sullivan vein. Standouts are his ode to straightness, Rock and Roll Nerd, and his jaunty plea for Jews and Arabs to make peace by "not eating pigs together".

If he did not croon about inflatable women and sexual practices illegal in some American states, one could imagine him on primetime, Bobby Crush-meets-Bill Bailey.

There is one further cavil. Minchin's strength is clearly music rather than comedy. Without his keyboard he is a fish out of water. Not gasping for air, but still learning. His patter about his family lacks a sucker punch and he knows it, returning to his stool whenever possible. If he stayed seated he could be a shoe-in for the Perrier, instead he's a mere contender, though undoubtedly a mustsee one.

After a flat 2004, character comedian Justin Edwards might have had difficulty making a splash in the guise of booze-sodden children's entertainer Jeremy Lion, but he is back on song with What's the Time Mr Lion?, a spoof musical packed with splashes - splashes of vodka, rum, whisky and most other spirits except Baileys because he's lactose intolerant.

And toddler intolerant, too. His antics include the unveiling of a selection of mutilated teddy bears which would give them nightmares.

As ever, his coup de theatre is a liver-pickling drinking skit - it should have been a puppet sketch, "unfortunately I've sold the puppets".

A strictly adult event, no tiny tots allowed. Just big tots for Lion.