Surprisingly for a late-night show, Speed Queen offers a gentle form of clowning: Ozzy Algar has a masterful command of her character, an old lady in the last laundrette on the Isle Of Wight who quickly lures the audience into a measured journey through her personal history of that island. From a cautionary tale about the dangers of mysterious lights to a sudden burst of cabaret glamour, Algar’s old lady is part eccentric and part sinister crypt-keeper. The wry humour cuts a satirical swathe through the Isle’s geography with references to specific locations evoking the decaying glamour of the British seaside; stories of locals suggest a suffocating small-town mentality.

Whether stealing socks from this crowd or expanding an anecdote into surreal horror, Algar commands the stage. When she finally bursts into song, her invocation of the past is melancholic and trenchant. An old lady singing about staying young might lend easy irony, but her conviction and yearning transcends the obvious. Algar’s ‘speed queen’ balances between the more aggressive bouffon and the vulnerable clown with characterisation that is almost naturalistic: an old lady realising that her time has passed but still holding onto secret histories. Speed Queen is a cool hour that celebrates a low-key brilliance.

Ozzy Algar: Speed Queen, Pleasance Courtyard, until 24 August, 10.30pm; main picture: Paul Gilbey.