Helen Keen: The Primitive Methodist Guide to Arctic Survival

Keen by name, keen by nature: Helen Keen has all the verve and energy of an enthusiastic favourite teacher at school, and is certainly a big favourite among her crowd this afternoon. Her set is an unusual one: it is something of a history-slash-science lesson, but without all the boredom, thanks to her constant and unwavering wit. She encourages audience participation, responding funnily but without cruelty to any interjections we make, however inane. It's a trick not often attempted by comedians, simply because it's more difficult to raise a laugh through niceness than through nastiness – but Keen pulls it off. A lot of the material concerns Keen's own life and ancestral history, and she does a great job of drawing us in via her lighthearted take on everything from religion, to illness and even death. Her optimistic outlook and youthful zest belies a no-nonsense maturity and intelligence beyond her years – the real secret behind this show's success.