Holly Burn @ Underbelly, Med Quad

I Am Special takes Holly Burn on a journey of self-realisation. She learns that she really is the most important person in the world, though no one else seems to have realised it yet. As the title suggests, this is a show about a generation that were told that they were special, that they could be anything they wanted to be – Thatcher's children.

Burn creates a sense of wonder at her abilities once the show starts to unfold, and her mix of props, songs and impressions slowly fuse together in the most satisfying way. The highlight of the show is Burn performing a one-woman duet between her 4-year old self and Liza Minnelli. As a performer, Burn is theatrically hypnotic, comically sharp and talented enough to exist in some of the lulls between gags with ease and delight.

However, the show does not live up to her obvious abilities and fails to capitalise on these strengths as a comedic performer. She likes to play cat and mouse with the audience and the atmosphere is tense at times as we try to suss out where she plans to lead us. When she softens her approach, everyone seems interested in going with her. But then, it’s clear that she relishes the kind of friction that this softening only defuses.

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Holly Burn: I Am Special, Underbelly Med Quad (Buttercup) 3-28 Aug (not 15), 6.55pm, £6-10.50