Mancunian comic Josh Jones broke through in Edinburgh last year, picking up an Edinburgh Comedy Award Best Newcomer nomination for his debut, Waste Of Space. But he had already done the hard yards, cutting his teeth in working men's clubs in the north of England. Now he is back with his second show, Gobsmacked, which confirms that his first show was no fluke.

Jones is the kind of supremely gifted comic who can turn the slightest of events into a crowdpleasing routine. There is no overarching theme to Gobsmacked, it is more of a series of stories in which he simply talks about himself and the scrapes he has got into. But who cares when the stories are as blissfully comical as the one about how he headbutted two other men. 

Jones fits neatly into the long tradition of camp, telly-friendly UK comedians (you know the names) but there is something distinctive about him too. He jokes about his voice, saying he sounds like a retired lollipop lady, but is clearly no wimp as the headbutting routine reminds us. He has previously boxed and enjoyed caneoing. He can clearly look after himself, except, according to one yarn, where geese are concerned.

His show is slyly subversive throughout, frequently upending expectations. He tells the audience how he hangs around a lot with his brother which – long story short – results in him being at a Limp Bizkit gig despite not being a fan of the band and becoming an unexpected star striker on a BBC sports programme despite knowing next to nothing about football.  

Elsewhere there are winning riffs about his love of period drama, his obsession with dreamcatchers and fingering. This natural entertainer was just what I needed. Before Jones, I'd just come out of a classic Fringe show that had a narrative thread and theme and a moral. Jones' show had none of these things but had something even better – proper jokes and wall-to-wall laughs. No joshing, he's great.

Until August 27, then touring. Info here.

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four stars