★★★

“I CAN’T tell how well this is going,” laughed Sam Simmons about halfway through his set in Hove. The audience was left with very much the same feeling.

It is very difficult not to like the Australian comic, who scooped two of the biggest awards on the live comedy circuit last year, at Edinburgh and Melbourne festivals.

An upcoming slot on Live at the Apollo is further confirmation that Simmons is very much enjoying a moment, however “niche” his routine might be (in his own words). “I’ve been dubbed the coriander of comedy,” he quipped.

There are undeniable highs in his Not a People Person show, which is underpinned by a tenuous narrative based around birds that Simmons himself often ridicules.

His use of audio recordings allowed for humorous internal exchanges, which would otherwise take place only in Simmons’ manic brain, to be played out in real time – complemented by his bamboozled facial expressions. While a voice boomed out the words “big thoughts” through the PA, Simmons reeled off hilarious faux-profound “revelations” that might have come from the mouth of an inquisitive but uneducated toddler.

At other points, however, the gags fell flat and Simmons’ incredulity towards the crowd’s supposed lack of reaction seemed to go from playful to mildly sincere, making for a slightly awkward atmosphere at times.

Simmons has a lot in his locker, though, and will no doubt enjoy better shows than this one in the months to come.