Mitch Benn’s special brand of geekiness, nerd humour, silly songs, and angry polemic has been in the public eye since the late ’90s. Mitch is now at the sharp end of middle age, and his latest stand-up show, World’s Cleverest Idiot, is about him coming to terms with getting old and the discovery that he has ADHD, a trait not uncommon in both comedians and geeks.

Some comedians age like fine milk; the world speeds past them, and they become increasingly less interesting and more toxic as they get lumpier and less useful. Fortunately, Benn has aged like a novel whisky or rare cheese, full of character and rather surprising. Mitch lampshades the show’s title at the start, owning the arrogance of calling himself a clever idiot. Much humour is mined from a childhood full of promise, as is his improving love life, which is tempered by decades of perspective.

There are plenty of fun facts for nerds peppered in throughout the show; Mitch Benn has a deep love of sci-fi and fantasy and a healthy curiosity about how the world works, which comes out in his comedy. World’s Cleverest Idiot is a comedy show starring a happy but frustrated sort of chap, someone for whom life is finally starting to make sense (thus allowing them to have some sense of peace). At the same time, Benn is frustrated at how rubbish everything is right now, and this paradox forms the show’s central joke.

This isn’t, however, one of those stand-up shows where the comedian reveals some clever epiphany about the world; Mitch has walked that road many times before. Instead, it’s a lot more raw, silly, and kind of personal, which will have you sensibly chortling to yourself for days.

Deeply funny, warm and superbly done, Mitch Benn is back at the peak of his game. Funny, folksy and flipping good. Go see.

Find out more about Mitch Benn here and you can book for his Edinburgh Fringe show here.