Pippa Evans: Your Evening's Entertainment

In this weird and wonderful variety show, Pippa Evans delights the audience with the unique style of character comedy that won her the if.comedy award for Best Newcomer in 2008. Compering the gig is Evans's main alter ego Julie Mansize, a washed-up entertainer with a brash Northern accent, desperately trying to keep her corporate sponsor after the death of her husband and partner. Initially playing the character just for cheap laughs, Evans slowly reveals a keen intelligence behind the apparent caricature.

Mansize is joined by various other well-drawn characters, each with their own set of subtleties and each almost entirely convincing. Accompanying her on the piano is her wonderfully deadpan son, Barry (named after Barry Manilow). Evans's corporate event evening ploughs on through the bizarre (meat-based bingo officiated by a faulty robot, anyone?) and the believable with gusto, her frenetic energy never flagging. The best character is perpetually hungover country singer Loretta, who entertains with surprisingly catchy musical numbers. A spot-on accent and guitar talent allows the Evans as Loretta to pack in the laughs and completely charm the audience, despite the somewhat psychotic subject matter of the songs.

Evans still has room to mature, as the tendency towards caricature occasionally overwhelms the subtlety of her writing. But these moments of weakness are rare: she is definitely one to catch now and to keep an eye on, as she hopefully continues to garner the success she deserves.