Incompetent, negative, a follower not a leader: Josh Pugh is highly conversant with his own shortcomings. His Edinburgh show chronicles the Coventry man’s diffident journey through life – getting things wrong, shrinking into the background, “not even the headliner,” as he jokes, “at my own therapy sessions.” But there are exceptions: Sausage, Egg, Josh Pugh, Chips and Beans (for so it’s called) also traces Pugh and his wife’s five-year efforts to have a baby, a story given significance here and in which Pugh can’t help but be the leading man. Then there’s his Edinburgh comedy award nomination, which propels this shambling bit-part player firmly into the standup spotlight.
He deserves it, for a show that’s heartwarming and studded with real gems of jokes. Many of them cast Pugh himself as the fall-guy, like the keeper about his wife diagnosing him with ADHD. Some of the very best combine his own haplessness with stealth commentary on the state of the world, like his peachy routine about his text correspondence with a 15-year-old kickboxer. As the show proceeds, details are added to the picture of a man whose faced some challenges in life: broken home (there’s a great gag about meeting his stepdad), mental health difficulties, visual impairment. But the brushwork is never heavy handed. Pugh isn’t trite about that stuff, but his eye is always out for the (usually clever) gag.
