It's a fairly small audience that greets James Dowdeswell as he steps on stage, but this doesn't faze him, and his warmth towards the crowd instantly endears him to us. A nice idea for a stand up show, everyone can identify with childhood stories, can't they? Self deprecating and humble, he admits that he won't be picking on the audience and instead he concentrates on his own shortcomings. Very personable, he begins to tell tales of his childhood, the problems that growing up in a Bristolian pub caused, the school rugby team, and the boy at school who had his arm in a cast. Dowdeswell's material is generally laugh-out-loud funny, and he has a warm and encompassing style that makes you feel he is genuinely happy to be talking to you - and the audience certainly enjoy listening.

Lynsey Paterson, August 2005

Big up the lad from Bristol. He may look like Screech from Saved by the Bell, but he's a smart and inventive comedian who proves that just adding the word f**k to any sentence doesn't make it funny

Rach, August 2005