Denzil de Cristo introduces himself as “Wolverine if he were undergoing chemotherapy” — a line that sounds brutal on paper but, in context, is a sharp, self-deprecating icebreaker. In truth, he’s more of a Marvel in his own right, armed with a brain that fires off puns like a malfunctioning Nerf gun.

The warning signs come early: within sixty seconds, five groan-worthy puns have landed. But here’s the thing — they’re good groans, the kind that ripple across the room. He’s testing the water, feeling the mood, and once the audience is hooked, he floors it.

The loose thread tying it all together is artificial intelligence: is it good for humanity, and how does it really affect us? That’s the launchpad for a wild chain of associations — Thomas the Tank Engine as the first self-driving train, cloned sheep wandering into the conversation, and Jesus reimagined as a Jedi. In de Cristo’s hands, these ideas don’t just bump into each other; they throw a dinner party together.

His nerd credentials are unquestionable. Not many comics could drop a killer Genesis/Phil Collins pun, segue into Bible–Star Wars conspiracy theories, and still find time to stage the Last Supper in a Nando’s. There’s even an obscure 1980s computer reference lobbed in, because of course there is.

The gags arrive thick and fast — Harry Hill–style surrealism meets George Formby–era wordplay, with a dash of schoolyard smart-aleck energy. The lunacy spirals further as he pits Jeff Bezos against Elon Musk in an AI-themed celebrity deathmatch, and lands a glorious throwaway about computer code being non-binary.

It’s not high art — nor does it pretend to be. What it is, is a cleverly chaotic free-hour that ricochets from the sublime to the ridiculous without losing momentum. The Free Fringe has a knack for unearthing these offbeat gems, and de Cristo’s show is very much one of them.

Whether you come for the nerdy deep cuts, the daft conspiracies, or just the sheer velocity of the puns, you’ll leave with at least three new jokes lodged in your head — and perhaps a song lingering from his genuine, real-life stint on The X Factor two decades ago.

So much fun.