Andrea Hubert wants you to know she has no feelings. She loves nothing, laughs at nothing and is impressed by nothing. This emotional chasm is the premise of her aptly named show, Holes of Joy.

Hubert delves into subjects ranging from the Holocaust, to her sex life, and Silence of the Lambs to neofeminist literature. It is more of a late-night act than a 2pm lunchtime filler, but Hubert easily plays the room with a surprisingly pliant warmth.

Never one for observational comedy, you can expect personal debates and revelations from Hubert. Her humour is the darkest of the dark; she is a self-proclaimed Jewish Vampire. One highlight was an overtly sexual story about a four-year-old named Richard. Clearly Hubert is not scared of making her audience squirm with a string of intimate, self-depreciating anecdotes. Although her humour is not overloaded with jokes, her personal reflections and stories are beautifully honest and original. 

Hubert’s cruel humour is shocking, but she never oversteps the line. Despite her generous giving of self, Hubert maintains a calm exterior. Her soothing middle-class voice is at odds with the scandals she reveals and her vibrant energy onstage contrasts with the internal darkness she exposes. In the pokey room in Gilded Balloon that hosts her, Hubert skilfully weaves the sweaty audience into her show and even leaves us paper fans on our seats to handle the unusual Edinburgh humidity.

The climax of Hubert’s quirky jokes come when she asks the audience to compare conversations she has had with her shrink and quotes from serial killers. Perhaps at this point she is searching for more content, as she regularly checks the time.

Holes of Joy is no ordinary stand-up set. Andrea Hubert is far more generous with her audience than a typical comic. The result is a resounding success, although not overly funny. The hour ends on a bitterly sad note, where Hubert’s cruel humour and psychopathic tendencies are tied together with yet another revelation. Overall Hubert’s set is cynical, scathing, sexy and very entertaining. 

Andrea Hubert is on at the Gilded Balloon Teviot, Edinburgh