The curse of the Laughing Horse Free Festival strikes again, though surprisingly late in the Fringe this year.

Northern Irish comedian Ryan McDonnell cancelled his show last night – although no one thought to convey that to the couple of dozen punters who showed up, milling around the empty corridor outside the empty venue in an ever-increasing sense of confusion as to what might be going on.

People eventually gave up, some drifting into the Shaggers show next door, some moving on. Once in range of a mobile signal outside the venue, his Twitter feed reveals that he had pulled because he was ‘pebble-dashing’, which I assume doesn’t mean he’s doing some late-night home improvement; quite the opposite, in fact. From no information to too much information in the space of a single tweet.

With hundreds of performances every day at the Fringe, things are going to go wrong and shows are going to get cancelled, so let’s not be too tough on him. But would it be beyond someone to stick a sign saying: ‘Sorry, tonight’s show has been cancelled’ on the door? It’s only a small gesture, but it would increase the perception that free shows can still be professionally run no end.