It doesn’t feel like much of a dig to describe Pedro Leandro as a better actor than a comedian. Yes, he’s “magnetic” – the achievement which provides a nice springboard for an exploration of his own drive for success and self worth linked, he hypothesises, to his sexuality – and, yes, he is “clever and beautiful”. But Soft Animal really takes off when Leandro fully commits to a character, launching unexpectedly into a long exposition of a New York stevedore which turns into a mini-epic of working class hopes and failures. But he can’t help himself, and undercuts the mood for no apparent reason other than he feels he should in a comedy show.
That’s not to say there’s not some lovely material in here. His observations about Lucy the Australopithecus, and about his love life have unexpected angles and originality of expression. Oh, and watch this guy destroy Lin Manuel-Miranda in a way one feels only this most actorly of comedians could do. But much of this is too gentle, or too wilfully smart, or the beats too under-developed to make it really fly. Parochial jokes about Tooting, or a rather-too-high count of therapy speak, prompted by his ruminations on Alan Downs’ The Velvet Rage don’t help either. The overall result is a piecemeal and under-powered hour of gentle comedy from a natural star.
Pedro Leandro: Soft Animal, Pleasance Courtyard, until 24 Aug (not 12), 8.10pm