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Gay Furnish is a professional flirt coach. She puts people into three categories: introvert, extrovert and pervert. She points out the location of a clitoris on a toy rabbit. She is completely and unapologetically risqué, and is here to teach us a thing or two about flirting.

What we end up getting is some amalgamation of a lecture (complete with flip chart) and a stand up routine, with the occasional song thrown in for good measure. It’s just all a bit… bitty. Although the show is technically split into “big topics” – confidence, for example – these individual sections seem to divide even further, becoming confused and unstructured. There’s some audience interaction thrown in; there’s an interview with Arlene the ageing musical actress; there’s two random musical numbers, none of which flows coherently. At one point our guru Gay even totally abandons us for a staged emergency toilet break. This doesn’t really add anything; it just leaves us confused.

And ah, the two words everyone dreads. Audience participation. There’s an audible sharp intake of breath when Gay utters the phrase ‘I’m going to need a volunteer’. Yet this is where Gay Furnish Flirt Coach finds its comic footing. I’d wager that Steve from Barnsley and Trevor from Ipswich have never stepped foot on a stage in their lives. Yet here they are, coaxed (if somewhat unwillingly) into tap dancing in a top hat and saying cheesy pick up lines in a Spanish accent, hand on crotch. These moments are the most naturally hilarious. It is a little ironic that Gay isn’t the main source of comedy in her eponymous comedy show.

Despite its faults, I can just about forgive Gay Furnish Flirt Coach, since it willingly pushes itself just beyond the line of ridiculousness. If you can completely let go and not take any of it seriously, and are willing to partake in the aforementioned audience participation, it’s good entertainment – if nonsensical. If you want something polished and with sharper humour, look elsewhere.

Gay Furnish Flirt Coach is playing at Underbelly Cowgate (Venue 61) until August 30th (not 24th). For more information, visit the Fringe website.