John Hegley's Biscuit of Destiny

Sorting out an Edinburgh fringe itinerary can be a nightmare. Shows never seem to fit together at the right place at the right time but the scheduling gods were on our side by placing John Hegley in the same venue half an hour after we had seen (and loved) "Grandmother's Closet".

We have probably seen Hegley at the Fringe more than any other performer, going back to the 1990s so there are no surprises about his act. We know he will play the ukulele, sing, read poems both funny and poignant, reveal drawings, speak French as well as general silliness and audience participation.

I have spent a lot of the festival in shows wearing a mask, obviously to protect myself from germs but also because it usually makes me invisible to performers. However, on my last full day and with just 3 more shows left my luck ran out. From the whole audience standing up enacting certain words from a song we were about to interact with he found my "jellyfish" work shoddy, despite encouragement from a supportive lady. I knew from experience this would not be my last involvement in the show and true to form I came on stage at the end to feed a chocolate biscuit to a cardboard animal. (You had to be there).

In John Hegley's case familiarity does not breed contempt. The staging may be the same but the material is not. The sheer professionalism of the guy shines through this hour of unique entertainment. He is one of the Fringe's all-time greats who we will happily return to again and again. So should you.