one4review | On 19, Aug 2022

This is a work in progress show, and perhaps that means the pressure’s off and Ms Gleeson can be relaxed and bouncy and quirky and have some fun. The four stars this show is getting are for its current form, with no reference to the potential it holds (which is considerable).

You can see the elements that could be taken further or exploited for more amusement – like the lovely home-made Muppet, or stories about working in a nursery – but as they are they’re engaging and funny and they work in the show. This is mostly down to Ms Gleeson herself who is friendly and non-threatening, and seems to really enjoy being on stage, even when she’s telling us something that makes her cringe a bit.

At a little shorter than an hour, this show is able to take the premise of a joke and extend it, without strain or artifice, over the whole show. It means we never lose the thread of where we are, and everything, all the little side bits, are directly – rather than tenuously – linked with that central thread.

Works in progress can be hit or miss, but this is a delightful one that deserves some attention.

Reviewed by Laura

Just The Tonic at The Caves
21:00 (until 28th)