Spanning love, loss and lockdown, Hot Mess is a supremely well-crafted hour from Angela Barnes, packed with strong jokes but exquisitely tying together the stories of her marriage, friendship with the late comic Phil Jerrod, and rage at Boris Johnson’s government. With a panache that feels more organically presented than it is, she seeds the big emotional pay-offs and political protest in her initial observational material and gentle, unhurried introductions to her sometime tour support Jerrod, and courtship with her husband.

For someone with a relatively mainstream profile, significantly attributable to Mock The Week and its strain of consensus-building rather than sharp, principled satire, the comic always pointed out by Jerrod as ‘television’s Angela Barnes’ whenever the chance to embarrass her arose, is nevertheless appealingly outspoken and convincingly passionate. Decrying those who question her and her spouse’s wish to remain childless, she’s equally withering of a wedding industry that puts pressure on middle-aged brides to conform, sharing her regret at having capitulated to some of that pressure. Her nuptials and Jerrod were inextricably bound together, despite his refusal to be a bridesmaid. Barnes weaves the tales together masterfully, acknowledging the pathos boost in her structure, but with love and kinship expressed palpably real.

Pleasance Courtyard, until 28 August, 7pm.