On the surface, Rob Rouse’s material could sound pretty deathly: how his mother-in-law is from up north and is quite religious. And some amusing things that have happened in the last year.

And don’t dogs do the funniest things?

But it just so happens that this particular dog does do extremely funny things, and, in the hands of the frankly brilliant Rouse, mothers and dogs and happenings go to make up a show that, at its best, is as good as you’ll see at the Fringe this year.

Rouse is a master of painting a picture, hopping between viewpoints, developing a scenario from innocuous beginnings until he reaches an uproarious climax.

And then he’ll throw in another detail that takes things even further.

And once he’s hit a seam of comic gold – usually a deliciously profane one – he’s not afraid to strike with his pickaxe again and again, something which his considerable mastery of both the large- and small-scale dynamics of his material allows him to do to great effect.

This is also one of the smoothest, most confidently delivered sets I’ve seen. But Rouse’s effortless segueing and slick, fast pacing doesn’t detract from its freshness.

Indeed, after one punter struggles with the exit door when popping to the loo, Rouse sidetracks into a fine disquisition on the perils of train doors and then skips back to where he left off with nary a hitch. Very impressive.

Not everything is as good as everything else, although it’s only because the good bits are so very good that the sections which are merely funny seem a bit disappointing.

An observation about baby names was amusing, but some subsequent elaborations didn’t add too much to the basic point.

Nonetheless, Rouse has produced a first-rate routine that is smartly constructed and superbly executed.

Alex Brenner

Rob Rouse is appearing at the Pleasance Courtyard until August 30th

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