Raised by California hippies and now proudly calling herself a ‘story midwife’, a theatre graduate and comedian brings her own tale to the Patter Hoose. Breed Or Bust is Joyful Raven (how’s that for an incredible California hippie name) looking back at her road to motherhood, or some detours that kept swerving her away from it. With a coy curling of her long, brown hair, or a standoffish folding of the arms, she acts out a good 20 or so characters, including one hectoring mother that’s a dead ringer for Ann Dowd’s Aunt Lydia in The Handmaid’s Tale. 

Maternal urges confuse her, and a hot and cold boyfriend complicate things while she tries to focus on creating art. She’s a natural storyteller, flipping between scenes in a lakeside dive bar in Oakland or drinking tea and pulling tarot cards with a roommate. The Golden Gate bridge feels almost visible in the background, as do the ‘old white lawmakers’ doing hideous things to reproductive rights. A fun and feminist look at one of life’s perennial dilemmas, freshly told, with moving moments and an excellent blast of Cyndi Lauper.

Breed Or Bust, Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose, until 28 August, 2.20pm.