Turns out goldfish actually have a very impressive memory for their size. This is just one of many common misconceptions that the Mancunian comic debunks over the course of an hour. Nina Gilligan possesses an impressive conversational style that has clearly been honed on the circuit over the years. But there’s more to Goldfish than a few clever jokes about forgetfulness. She goes above and beyond the remit of a classic club comic, with routines about suffering from Fibromyalgia and experiencing sexual assault as a middle-aged woman. She fights back against the narrative that older women should see sexual assault as a compliment in a moving and impassioned manner. Unfortunately, some of the straighter stand-up suffers as Gilligan occasionally feels like a bit of a fish out of water in a sparsely populated church hall rather than a buzzing comedy club but that’s through no fault of her own. The more serious material usually runs smoothly alongside the sillier stuff, but can be a little disjointed at times. 

Goldfish is probably the only show at the Fringe where you receive a fortune-telling fish before the show even starts. This is just one of the many little things that Gilligan does as a performer to endear her audience to her. She’s an impressive, emotive performer with enough charm to win over any audience.

Nina Gilligan: Goldfish, Just The Tonic Nucleus, until 26 August, 8.40pm; main picture: Steve Ullathorne.