Some of us took to banana bread, others to cold-water swimming. During her lockdown, Emmy Blotnick resorted to the dusty press releases of Jennifer Lopez’s perfume collection. Her obsession with J-Lo’s fragrance portfolio all began when her manager asked for a proposal for a one-hour Fringe show. Struggling to find comedic stimulus during such a mind-numbing time, Blotnik proposed to speak about J-Lo’s 30 fragrances for two minutes each. It’s a huge relief that she doesn’t.

Exemplifying the saying ‘you can’t choose your family’, instead Blotnick delves into a family drama which you could not make up. Her delivery is at its best when describing the idiosyncrasies of her family members; for instance, her Republican mother’s spreadsheet containing ‘fake news’ websites to avoid. While her eccentric family are usually the butt of the joke, sometimes she uses self-deprecation to great effect.

^{Pictures: Mindy Tucker}

While her call-backs could be clearer and the hilarious ‘list of things Lopez hasn’t experienced but I have’ might have been longer, Blotnick’s stand-up set skilfully navigates a subject matter which must be incredibly difficult for her to process. Overall, the show is messy in places, perhaps reflecting the rawness of that family situation, but it’s very easy to warm to Emmy Blotnick’s charismatic stage presence. 

Assembly George Square Studios, until 29 August, 6.40pm.