Me, My Mum and I, Jen Brister

It's all net curtains, home cooking and teen tantrums at The Pleasance Hut when Jen Brister takes the stage in 'Me, My Mum and I'. Free-spirited Brister is 31 and living temporarily with her mother; back in her suburban childhood home, she has plenty of time to reflect on all she loves and loathes about the first woman in her life. In Brister's eyes, her Spanish mama is a formidable eccentric: She talks too loudly, appears to keep most of her possessions in a plastic bag, and has lousy fashion sense. Brister adopts an easy, conversational style with her audience and reveals growing up with her mother was not all cosy nights in, manic shopping sprees and girlie bonding.

The show is packed with mother/daughter couplings and Brister certainly gets a good response. Think fashion fall-outs and teen neurosis, as Mum spills Jen's secrets at the school gates. But it's when she's recalling the horror of growing up in a small town setting that Brister really excels.
Characters like the chav with the "Burberry tongue" come to life with sharp impersonations from Brister. At once, you are left in no doubt why she feels she really must get away.

Any hint of sentimentality is crushed by Brister's outrageously well-timed punchlines. What Jen believes is a dysfunctional relationship actually proves to be a normal and enduring example of modern motherhood. No surprises here, but a satisfying story nonetheless. [Diana Kiernander]