Kathy Maniura @ Gilded Balloon

Objectified is a capsule of an hour into which Kathy Maniura has placed her greatest gift (bestowed upon her by a life-changing bout of tonsillitis). It’s the gift of knowing what kind of person an object would be, which across the course of the hour takes us from self-obsessed paper straw to statement Scandinavian lamp. 

In the wrong hands this set-up could become cumbersome, but the show is tied together quite elegantly. Maniura begins in homage to the awkwardness we associate with impressionists, standing bolt upright to say “that was me as the middle seat in a car” before abruptly moving into the next segment. But she knows that she can only get so much mileage out of this, and introduces a fun and inventive device for driving the rest of the show just when we’re needing something else to draw us in (spoiler: it does involve the audience).

Of course, if Maniura really has a gift it’s her physicality (her accent work is also strong). She’s perfected a combination of full-bodied goof and truly convincing acting that make her scenes irresistible; we can’t help but hoot at the image of her as a bitter old armchair as she flops at us with the energy of a grumpy Rowlf the Dog from The Muppets.

The characters Maniura assigns these objects are instantly recognisable, if a little broad. Her stand-out character is the pathetic electric scooter, partly because of the gleeful performance, but also because it’s the only personality that feels like we’ve never seen it before. By contrast, an acoustic guitar upset that it is being used to play Wonderwall doesn’t feel as uniquely her own. Maniura’s performance carries us along throughout, and the result is a solid and goofy hour that you’d happily point someone towards. Look forward to the deeper delves into these characters which are surely to come.

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Kathy Maniura: Objectified, Gilded Balloon Teviot (Wee Room), until 28 Aug (not 14), 4.40pm, £11-12