If Michelle Brasier’s life seems like an emotional rollercoaster, she’s still a thoughtful, spellbinding companion when she drags you into her head spins. Despite acclaimed live shows, television appearances and a book, the Australian is forever prone to imposter syndrome, perversely challenging the foresight of an attentive drama teacher who saw beyond her humble background and kookiness to her performing future. A rare negative review for her last show tipped the musical comic into paroxysms of self-doubt, harking back to an offhand remark delivered by a childhood friend, which has haunted her ever since.

Picking at psychological scabs is arguably where Brasier most excels. Maybe more so even than her exceptional singing. And she has set out to discover if there’s any justification in agonising as she does. It’s A Shame We Won’t Be Friends Next Year is an open-heartedly funny, immersively moving hour from the girlish comic. Exemplified by her mischievous, button-pushing tribute to the Fast & Furious franchise’s latent homoeroticism, Brasier scoops you onto a bumpy ride then places you down gently once again. Aided as always by her partner Tim Lancaster on guitar, she has the confidence to deliver a beautiful, joke-free ballad to a late friend as the show’s centrepiece, all the while extending olive branches to her persecutors.

Michelle Brasier: It’s A Shame We Won’t Be Friends Next Year, Gilded Balloon Museum, until 24 August, 7.30pm; main picture: Andrew Max Levy.