It’s not an overstatement to say that Janey Godley helped the people of Scotland survive the pandemic. At a time when laughs were thin on the ground, and each government announcement was met with trepidation, one upside began to emerge: if Nicola Sturgeon was at the podium, it meant a voiceover from Godley wasn’t far behind. Instead of lockdowns, closed pubs and not seeing your grandma, we’d hear ‘Nicola’ talk about soup pots, baked potatoes and meeting up with ‘the Sandras’.

All of which gave Janey a nook in our hearts and, if the audience response at Edinburgh’s Festival Theatre is anything to go by, she’s still tucked right in there. The outpouring of love as she walks onto the stage is topped only by a tidal wave that greets her closing gambit: a singalong about triumphing over adversity, something Godley is more than familiar with. From growing up in abject poverty with an abusive uncle, to her murdered mother and more recent cancer diagnosis, the Glaswegian comic is open about the traumas she’s faced. And although all of them get a brief mention here, they serve only to swell empathy and love in the room rather than place Godley as any kind of receptacle for pity.

Despite the show’s title of Not Dead Yet, cancer barely gets an airing, aside from a brutally honest take on what her ‘fanny’ has endured over the past few years (a lot). Instead, we’re regaled with hilarious stories of the night she met a music industry giant, the day her mammy took a head teacher down a peg or two, and an affectionate poke at life with an autistic husband and daughter.

Speaking of which, Ashley Storrie produces a mighty set of her own, supporting her mum and proving she is every inch a chip off the old block. Both women own the difficulties they’ve faced, turning each life challenge into a vehicle for laughter. With Storrie, a trip to Sainsbury’s to buy fags becomes a saga, while Godley recalls the day her wee girl ‘assisted’ with a pregnancy test. Nothing is too rude or off limits, but neither is any of their material gratuitous.

Of course, all those in attendance who found Godley on Twitter during the pandemic are longing for her to pull on a voiceover hat and make good use of the large video screen centre-stage: she doesn’t disappoint. Short videos of animal babies misbehaving, expertly voiced live, have us doubled over with laughter. Godley also knows exactly how to put the boot in and which politicians are worthy of a kicking. With Sturgeon’s departure, we may not hear that hallowed phrase ‘Frank, get the door!’ anymore, but long may this show’s title remain true. Because the world would be a far poorer place without Janey Godley in it.  

Janey Godley: Not Dead Yet is on tour until Saturday 18 March; reviewed at Festival Theatre, Edinburgh.