At the start of her show, Chelsea Birkby announces that she’s recently changed from a nice comedian to a nasty one. It’s a statement completely at odds with the pleasant greetings and free water she handed out to the audience on the way in. Of course, there’s been no such transformation: she’s an unfailingly charming host, blessed with tolerant composure despite endless provocation from an uncooperative front row. It’s perhaps a shame she doesn’t make more out of her faux combative stance, particularly when trying to maintain order.

^{Pictures: Chris WR Cox}

Despite constant interruptions (some of which she solicits), she maintains impetus through her debut hour, including some observations about Crazy Frog that are startling enough to warrant inclusion, almost two decades on. Much of the show involves reflections on her school days, including anti-drug campaigns and her precocious 11-year-old autobiography. More recently, she touches on a very dark experience during therapy which could probably fill a show on its own. Throughout, Birkby enjoys playing with the crowd, perhaps to a fault as she’s easily distracted. But she’s delightful company: that petulant rebrand was never going to work.

Reviewed at Just The Tonic At The Caves as part of Edinburgh Fringe.