“I get angry about things” was the apposite observation from Andrew Lawrence at the Hyena Lounge Comedy Club at City Screen, York.

The if.comedy-nominated curmudgeonly comedian is known for prolonged rants and a self-deprecating approach. Both were on fine form in the Basement of City Screen on Sunday. He is not, however, a misanthrope.

He first walked on to the stage with an elfish giggle and, despite brutally frank world views, his set was playfully sanguine. He has a wonderful talent for accents and cartoonish voices, giving his one-man-conversations and minute-long nihilistic diatribes real potency.

Lawrence has mastered the balance between his likeable personality and on-stage persona as a farouche sociopath. He spews out eloquently worded, foul-mouthed abuse, and then giggles. A tirade against an over-officious traffic warden was superb.

In the 90-minute set Lawrence walked on well-trodden comedic paths: relationship arguments, chavs, posh people, Australians living in London, and of course, his appearance – pale skin, bony face and ginger hair. His self-deprecation is given extra bitterness by his comments on his apparently stalling career, referring to his agents as flies buzzing over dog excrement.

But his skills with language and his loquacious ire at anything meant laughs were constant. Even when complaining about the stage’s dirtiness, the audience went along with it. And they were rewarded: His fulminating, acerbic humour proved surprisingly cathartic. He finished almost optimistically with a vociferous sing-song of the Benny Hill theme tune.

Andrew Lawrence is a true talent and, despite the buzzing flies, his career is worth watching.

Review by Jonathan Wilkes