In 2023, an innocuous one-liner crowned as (the late) Dave’s Joke Of The Fringe put Lorna Rose Treen in the sights of a tabloid rag of some disrepute. ‘Woke comedy judges pick lamest quip yet’ was one of at least two articles they published lamenting the falling state of the art. Having successfully ‘killed comedy’, Treen is back at the Fringe with an ambitious new aim: to kill theatre.

The Blue Tit Diner is the location for Treen’s character sketch show in which a cast of oddballs turn up and promptly exhibit their various peccadilloes. A put-upon waitress dreams of better things, a cabaret chanteuse sings about her umbilical cord, and a private investigator hides in a series of increasingly convoluted costumes. Best of all is the deranged girl desperate for a prom date with a particularly unattainable boy, her maniacal beseechment teetering on the edge of full-on moral dissolution.

Throughout 24 Hour Diner People props fail, audience interaction falters and costume changes don’t go entirely to plan but it all just about holds together. The characters are a mixed bag but it’s charmingly ramshackle and Treen carries it off with gusto.

Lorna Rose Treen: 24 Hour Diner People, Pleasance Courtyard, until 24 August, 6.20pm; plus 22 & 23 August, 9.30pm; main picture: William Hearle.