Alana Jackson @ Gilded Balloon, Appleton Tower

Alana Jackson is a likeable stage presence and does some great character work in her debut Fringe show, but many of her punchlines just don’t seem to fly

Review by Polly Glynn | 11 Aug 2025
  • Alana Jackson @ Gilded Balloon, Appleton Tower

Alana Jackson is the Glaswegian every gal. She drinks, she swears, she ‘asks for Angela’. In Last Orders, last year’s winner of So You Think You’re Funny turns to her West Coast upbringing for the content of her debut hour. It’s all pretty straightforward, observational stuff, painting characters and set-ups with broad strokes and leaning on even broader Scottish stereotypes for most of her gags.

The highlights of Jackson’s set come when she uses her acting training. Her voice work and displays of character are spot on – like when she transforms into bingo caller Anne (who, from the crowd interaction, seems like a piece of work), the pub landlady she works for, or taking on her pal from Armagh while stuck in an escape room. There’s also a fun twist on the traditional ‘40-minute mark’ in a Fringe show, but the rest of her stand-up seems to fall flat.

Jackson looks and sounds the part – she’s a super likeable presence – but her writing chops need a little more honing. Sadly, her punchlines just don’t seem to fly, even when the room is very much on her side. The show’s structure also feels pretty odd with momentum stopping dead at the 45-minute mark, playing for time with a bizarre pub quiz element and a dress-up segment that doesn’t pay off.

Absolutely you’d go for a gal’s night out with Jackson, sup Prosecco side-by-side or cry to her in a club toilet, but Last Orders can’t shake the feeling she’s the pal at the pub who’s been told she’s the funniest of the gang and the open mic has a tight five to fill.


Alana Jackson: Last Orders, until 24 Aug (not 11), Gilded Balloon Appleton Tower (Pip), 5pm, £9-£13