Catherine Bohart @ Monkey Barrel

A street pitch for This Isn’t For You might include break-ups and the life of the 30-something single woman – both topics that have been heavily mined for comedy already, and therefore not always immediately appealing to a discerning Fringe audience. Yet Catherine Bohart takes these mundane topics and weaves them into comedic gold.

Bohart’s third Fringe hour is a whirlwind tour de force. Of course, she has the advantage of speaking faster than any other act gracing a Fringe stage, so she’s able to fit in twice as many laughs (even to describe the show as a laugh a minute would be inaccurate, mathematically speaking). But there’s also something quite captivating about her performance, and the combination of the two elements results in an audience that at times struggles to catch its breath.

Over the course of the hour Bohart takes us through the process of her lockdown heartbreak, the reactions of the people in her life, and her own emotional response (yes, she is hiding a fringe which she cut herself). It’s a tight set in which the placement of every word and incredulous facial expression is precise, and where a joke never once outstays its welcome. But the most telling sign of the care with which Bohart approaches her craft is that she delivers her obligatory spiel thanking the venue and explaining the pay-what-you-can system before embarking upon her final story, meaning the show ends with the crowd in stitches and she is able to leave on a high.

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Catherine Bohart: This Isn't For You, Monkey Barrel (MB1), until 28 Aug, 3.20pm, sold out, returns only
Extra show at Assembly George Square (Studio Three), 27 Aug, 11pm, £11-12