The Argus: Brighton Festival Fringe launches today

With topics including murder, terrorism, domestic violence and armed robbery, Tea With Terrorists turns out to be a surprisingly heartwarming show.

Sameena Zehra welcomes us to the Quadrant on North Street by declaring that she, along with other members of her family, once shared a cuppa with gun-toting terrorists in Kashmir.

What follows is a 50-minute tale that takes us from the hills of the Lake District to the streets of Kabul, before the climax of the aforementioned refreshments in north-west India.

While the show is short on genuine laugh-out-loud moments, it is full of quirky characters, humorous situations and, above all, is a genuinely interesting and at times suspenseful story.

You can’t help but be drawn to Zehra, with her laidback style and I-wish-she-was-my-mum personality.

She begins by telling us her story of growing up in South London and then India.

This coming together of cultures provides most of the jokes and also the show’s real star: Zehra’s grandmother.

With her cursing of Zehra’s new husband and arguing with armed hostage-takers, she certainly fits into the “They don’t make ’em like that any more” category.

Zehra takes the audience through her warzone training for a trip to Kabul, a stand-off with a sheep in the Lake District, and the drama of getting her husband a visa from the Indian Consulate.

The climax of the show comes when in India, a bunch of armed terrorists turn up at the family home demanding to speak to the man of the house.

With tensions high and Zehra’s life flashing before her eyes, a rather English solution is suggested – a cup of tea.

This show is not so much stand-up comedy but humorous storytelling. Nevertheless, I quite enjoyed it.