one4review | On 27, Aug 2026

Kate Cheka is eight months pregnant and absolutely glowing, both physically and mentally. There’s a real sense that she’s arrived at a point in life where she’s looking back at the journey, while wondering exactly where she’s going next.

Travel is at the heart of the show, and Cheka has plenty of stories from living and travelling around Europe and wearing a slogan jumper in France, an oyster-eating disaster, sleeping with a partner in Grandma’s bed, Spanish colloquialisms and a trip to a colonialism museum that feels like something Lara Croft should be investigating. Even the obligatory JK Rowling call to arms feels original and invigorating.
Her time on the radio gets an airing too, along with being wooed to America, where apparently they set you loose and let you die with encouragement. There’s also a warning that perhaps the Welsh are the ones we should really be keeping a beady eye on.

Her genre-bending, baiting, take-no-prisoners approach is in full visceral flow. The comedy circuit comes sharply into focus, with straight white male comedians, club owners and the elitist hierarchy getting a kicking in the balls. It isn’t so much getting in the neck as practically bloodletting.

But then comes the biggest surprise. The title The Last Funny Woman isn’t just a clever title, as the Edinburgh run really is her last hurrah in comedy. Not because she’s about to have a child, but because of what she’s experienced, she’s stepping away from the circuit altogether.

Where she goes next, only time will tell. But if there’s one thing this show makes clear, it’s that while comedy might not offer much in the way of support, stability or even the ability to make a decent living, the friends she’s made along the way clearly mean a hell of a lot.
A glorious goodbye and a proper parting shot from an immense talent. Let’s hope she has more comebacks than Frank Sinatra.

5 stars *****
Reviewed by Steve H.
carte blanche! at PBH’s Free Fringe @ Voodoo Rooms
Until 30th August
17:55 – 18:55