We all know it's nice to receive glowing praise. But what does it feel like if you get a very un-welcome one star review? We thought we would rudely ask an act who has been on the receiving end of a bad review this festival that very question.

When we checked out the show by Canadian-Australian stand-up and sketch comic Alasdair Tremblay-Birchall it didn't take us long into the hour to realise this was a performance that was going to divide opinion. The title hints at what the show is about: Alasdair Lists Everything. That really is his aim.

Clearly such a unique format is not going to be for everyone, and indeed as proof of that Sue Bevan has posted a one star review on Broadway Baby.

Time to find out how it feels be on the receiving end of such a rating...

Hi Alasdair. How did you react to getting the one-star review?

Speaking as someone who has received a few one star reviews at previous festivals for my stand-up, there's always an initial impact, like a small kick in the guts. It's that little reminder of something you already knew: not everyone is gonna love your stuff. And some people are going to hate it.

With a stand-up show one stars aren't so difficult to rationalise, because you've been working on the material for a long time, you've been testing it out in rooms all around the place, you know the material works to an almost scientific repeatability. One star reviews then tend to come out of particularly bad nights...

I had one at the Adelaide Fringe one year on the first night of the festival. It was a full house of people who came and saw the show not because they knew me and wanted to see me but because tickets were $5 on the first night and everyone was selling out. Granted, I opened with kid-hitting material. It was anti-kid-hitting, but I don't think that mattered, they gave me nothing, I didn't deal with it well, I made it worst by getting shaken by their silence, but pushed through. Half way through the gig the power went out as well and I continued to do the gig in darkness (which I feel was worth at least one other star).

The one star for Alasdair Lists Everything wasn't super surprising. The show is exactly what it says on the box: a man listing things for an hour. Most people aren't interested in seeing that and one of those people is bound to be a reviewer. The funny part about this review was that she seemed to think I was trying to do stand-up, like I had seen stand-up comedy, thought I'd give it a go and the best I could come up with was listing disassociated words and sentences. She also said I wasn't listing things but "stating" them. So a review like this almost makes you happy with the reviewer's interpretation of the show.

What do you think the biggest problem with the review is?

Not reviewing the show for what it is. It's a show where a man lists things for an hour. If you review it as a narrative stand-up show you'll be disappointed. If you review it as a dance show you'll find my moves minimalist and lacking.

Do you think this review, or reviewing this show in general, is a useful exercise?

Ha. Well I think it's an interesting exercise because what people are reviewing is a one hour chunk of a project that could potentially take up the rest of my life, listing everything. I like the creativity that has to go into reviewing the show. A man stands on stage and thinks of a new thing to list every few seconds. How can you decide whether the listing is "good"? How do you decide how many stars it gets?

Strangely enough, my producers and I have discussions about whether particular shows were good or bad and there are a variety of factors, which include a good mixture of short, medium and long things; whether the crowd is into it or bemused; minimal umms; delivery quality...

What made you want to do this show?

It's a ridiculous idea. I like the idea of doing a show that is itself a joke. When I did an hour long one on YouTube many people seemed to love it. Also it's fun, and I like what it's doing to my brain.

What's your favourite thing you've listed?

I would say 'Gareths'.

'Alasdair Lists Everything' is at Freestival St Mary's at 2:30pm until the 24th August. Listing