In 2013, Karl Redgen woke up in a prison cell in Thailand with a gash on the back of his head, surrounded by a group of men demanding money. Twinception is the story of how Karl’s southeast Asian journey devolved from a drunken trip with his twin brother into a series of manic episodes, an empty wallet and an unfinished chest tattoo.

Sounds interesting, right? It is – Redgen’s gradual descent into madness makes for a great story. The problem with Twinception is it’s the kind of story better suited for a 20-minute set at a storytelling night. As an hour-long comedy show, it falls flat.

Redgen has a natural charisma and an effable stage persona, but he can’t seem to decide if he wants this show to be a story of mental illness littered with a few humorous anecdotes, or a comedy show grounded by his manic episodes. The show is littered with odd gimmicks – a pre-recorded narrator whom Redgen tries to play off; an awkward audience demonstration of the popular dice game that he mastered in Thai bars, a dance-off with someone from the crowd – all of which struggle to add meaning or laughter to his story.

Where Twinception suffers most is in its odd treatment of his mania. Redgen seems unsure whether he’s going for black humour or real tension when he talks about the night he became so adept at Jackpot that he convinced himself he was a super hero, Dice Man, and he’d reform the X-Men. Later, after an incident that sees him separated from his twin brother, he convinces himself that he and his twin have become one person, hence the show’s title. Yet Redgen comes across as incredulous towards his own story, as if he’s trying to highlight both the tragedy and absurdity of his predicament yet failing to explore either. There’s a good story here, and maybe it was opening show jitters or the relatively small turnout, but Twinception never figures out what it’s supposed to be.

Twinception runs at The Courthouse Hotel’s Jury Room from September 30 to October 4. Tickets on sale now through the Fringe website.