Jenny Collier @ Laughing Horse, Espionage

By turns fantastical and sincere, Welsh-born Jenny Collier brings a new hour of stand-up to the Fringe that explores growing up, dating, looking after your body and generally letting out the Fantastic Beast within. Collier is linguistically creative, slowly building up a secret language that draws us into her world, and talks us through the odd societal pressures around us with a cheeky air and eloquent turns of phrase. From the off she warns us that this isn’t a show full of satire and high-falutin’ comedy philosophy, and it transpires that these aren’t things that she needs to entertain us with, either.

Collier loses control of her audience at times, but when she stays on course she charms us into following her into both smutty and whimsical material very easily. She goes over some old ground with regards to the comics’ favourite of internet dating, but acknowledges that she’s doing so and adds a healthy dose of sarcasm to the mix. A friendly stage presence allows Collier to talk sex, dating and creative insults without edging into any dangerous territory, and creates a fun disconnect between the fun persona and stories about the Mile-High Club and new menstruation technologies.

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Jenny Collier: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Jen, Laughing Horse at Espionage (Pravda), 3-27 Aug, 5pm, free