After spending the last Edinburgh Fringe trialling this new hour, cabaret comic Catherine Cohen has cut no corners. Appropriately heavier in substance and more cynical in nature than her award-winning debut The Twist…? She’s Gorgeous, her second show Come For Me deals with overarching themes of existential dread and the desperate pursuit of happiness.

^{Catherine Cohen performing Come For Me in London / Pictures: Corinne Cumming}

In Cohen’s signature format, original songs give the show its backbone, while loose gags and chatter fill the space in between. In opener ‘The Void’, we learn this ambitious performer’s motivation to be on stage (‘there’s a gaping hole inside of me and for once I don’t mean sexually, no I’m talking metaphorically…’), while dependency on astrology and a constant desire to rid herself of the internet's negativity are explored in ‘Blame It On The Moon’ and ‘Offline’.

Cohen’s songwriting continues to be rich in gags and memorable melodies while also growing in sophistication and complexity. Once calling herself the ‘Taylor Swift of comedy’, songs in Come For Me oscillate between basic four chord strumming patterns and Sondheim-esque stream of consciousness rambles that require RADA-levels of enunciation and vocal technique. Never missing a beat, Cohen sings her way through this show effortlessly, accompanied by pianist Frazer Hadfield and occasionally pulling her guitar out for a few numbers (‘I saw a man play one of these and I thought… why not girl?!). 

As ‘The Void’ aptly addresses, Cohen feels right at home in the limelight; the stage a figurative chaise longue and we, the audience, 'her Freud'. Perhaps these natural performing instincts are why written segues don’t always serve Cohen as well as spontaneous moments of improvisation. Off-piste joshing with her pianist, microphone cord and sound technician has the theatre erupting with laughter, as well as songs like ‘I Can Make Myself Cum With My Hand’ and an increasingly neurotic love letter to her long-term partner ‘Tell Me I’m The Only One' (‘tell me I’m the only girl you’ve ever seen, you never left the house before you met me’).

Tangential musings about her sex life, relationship with her therapist and grappling with wanting to be a parent some day may feel more sincere than the performative self-aggrandising seen in The Twist...?, but the relatability of Come For Me is as acute and entertaining as Cohen’s acclaimed first show. Just sprinkled with more wisdom and rhinestones.

Reviewed at Hackney Empire. Come For Me, Brighton Komedia, Tuesday 7 & Wednesday 8 February; The Glee Club, Glasgow, Thursday 9 February; The Old Rep, Birmingham, Friday 10 February; City Varieties, Leeds, Saturday 11 February. Tickets available.