I CAN’T swear to it – unlike the three comics on this bill who managed their expletives with consummate ease – but the Funnybone crowds seem far less bolshy than previous seasons.

Certainly opener Suzi Ruffelle would have struggled with a tougher crowd, but the 50-50 male-female split earned her lesbian schtick a fair degree of warmth and positive feedback.

Ian Cognito is a Funnybone favourite and an excoriating set left no prisoners, including the worse-for-wear heckler who’s probably still trying to grow back the skin flayed off him.

But Cognito’s savagery isn’t all about foul-mouthed tirades against life; his writing is often shot through with moments of comic invention that make him a special act to see.

Headliner Junior Simpson’s musings on his – and our – sex lives and those of his audience made for an uplifting close to the show.