Alice Fraser - Ethos

What does it mean to be human? Intrepidly going where no comedian has previously dared venture, Alice Fraser spent much of tonight's new show trying to teach an artificially intelligent life form, her laptop, just that.

Her cybernetic friend played a significant role as the pair exchanged portions of dialogue for minutes at a time. Fraser deftly wrangled this act for the most part, which was particularly impressive considering the need to get the comedic timing just right. That said, there were a couple of occasions where her partner appeared to attain free will, firing up with unplanned comments and a '90s cod reggae anthem, prompting some emergency intervention from Fraser.

Although still ironing out some creases of this new show, there were some deep and moving insights into what makes us humans the way we are, not to mention a retooled version of Kenny Rogers' The Gambler as a defensive riposte to sexual misconduct in the workplace - every working man and woman should arm themselves with it.

Tonight Fraser's reach slightly exceeded her grasp but not without giving us a glimpse of an extraordinary mind at work.