Reclaiming the label ‘battleaxe’ from boorish misogyny, Katherine Ryan conducts her own attacks in a velvet glove with smiling grace. The incisively witty Canadian is often cruel to be kind and kind to be cruel, opening her show with some blunt thoughts about her children and husband that nevertheless underline their centrality to her life. Unapologetically ranking the kids by order of preference, subjecting her spouse to ridicule by emphasising her status as primary breadwinner and nurturer in their family unit, Ryan expertly treads a relatable path of exasperation and affection concerning her loved ones. Throughout, she alternates between have-it-all boss woman and insecure wife and mother, castigated and unsettled by her more progressive but merciless teenage daughter.

A regular refrain of the show is ‘are men ok?’ with Ryan tearing into the patriarchy and manosphere with unconcealed relish. She’s righteously punchy when confronting its worst toxicity, artful when launching into more subtle skirmishes in the war of the sexes, marrying both approaches when dissecting the male need to golf. Still, her enquiries do seem to convey some genuine concern. Via her podcast, open disclosures about her life and countless opinions about celebrity relationships, she’s developed into an engaging agony aunt. And Battleaxe’s second half is devoted to her considering her audience’s personal dilemmas. Remarkable for the candidness that she elicits in a room of thousands, she addresses each problem more-or-less thoroughly and thoughtfully, whilst never neglecting to lace these exchanges with dark humour, compelled by the juicy sex and drugs issues that she’s given.

A less comfortable persona Ryan has recently acquired is that of high-profile whistleblower about showbusiness sexual predators. So she’s judiciously respectful of legalities while remaining grimly hilarious tip-toeing through this particular minefield, tongue-in-cheek affecting restraint. She displays considerably less of this though musing on the quaint British term ‘nonce’, with sly swipes at celebrities who’ve gained that reputation.

Katherine Ryan: Battleaxe is on tour until Friday 27 June; reviewed at SEC, Glasgow.