Are we allowed to refer to The Alternative Comedy Memorial Society as a Fringe institution yet? The late-night gig has been a reliable presence in the Fringe schedule for well over a decade, and doesn’t show any sign of slowing down. A mixed bill gig for people who hate mixed bill gigs, it feels like a revival tent meeting being run by the guys who were thrown out of your local chess club for being just a bit too intense. It’s culty and it’s cliquey, and it really shouldn’t work… but work it does, with style.

Hosted by the lithe and sparkly Siân Docksey and the geekily camp Thom Tuck, ACMS is inclusive and welcoming, even if it can be baffling for first-timers. Heckling is very much encouraged, but – crucially – only if it’s done in accordance with the strict rules that are laid out at the start of the night. ACMS’s list of ‘Permitted heckles’ has become almost as celebrated as the night itself, and regular punters know exactly when to deploy a strategic ‘We appreciate what you’re trying to do!’ or even the ever-classic ‘Would you like a woman to sort it out?’

Experimentation is the name of the game, with each performer in turn bringing something outré, weird or just downright baffling. You’ll almost never see a club-ready tight ten of classic jokes here, even from the more conventional acts who occasionally grace the bill. Tonight’s line-up gives us such delicacies as Caitriona Dowden, with a cardboard box on her head, extolling the difficulties of life in a medieval nunnery; or Ted Hill, who has prepared an entire PowerPoint presentation about falcons and very much expects us to get on board with it; or Casey Filips embodying the majesty and grace of a mating manatee by dint of a stocking on the head and a stoic aversion to smiling that would make Madge Allsop proud. These experimental bits of comedic weirdness don’t always work, but the experimentation is very much the purpose of the evening. The refrain of ‘A noble failure!’ which religiously follows every act just serves to underline the atmosphere that Tuck and Docksey are striving to create.

By the time we return to our seats after the second interval – ACMS’s notoriously over-stuffed bill regularly runs until the wee hours – we can take in our stride Jake Glanc pouring an entire bottle of Evian over his head as he celebrates his Olympic swimming victory, or even the creepily mad fairytale horror of Mr Cardboard. ACMS is a temple for weirdos and outcasts (‘Is there anybody in the room who actually identifies as neuro-typical?’ quips Docksey at one point) and once we embrace it, it really starts to feel like home.

ACMS is at Monkey Barrel 1 until Sun 25 Aug 2024 (except Tue 22 to Thu 24) at 23:55