Cat Cohen @ Pleasance Courtyard

In 2023, riding high after the success of her Netflix special and about to embark on a European tour, Catherine Cohen had a stroke. Her new show tells that story; a story bound up in physical frailty, and a difficult tale to tell when being fabulous is so fundamental to Cohen's flamboyant persona.

The opening to Broad Strokes is business as usual: her first number – diva-styling, hair blown back – establishes the camp narcissism she's known for. 'It's thrifted', she says gesturing to her dazzling dress. 'Actually, it isn't', she goes on airily, 'but wouldn't it be great if it was’. The vacuous airhead mode is pitch-perfect and quintessential Cohen. As the show goes on, however, that persona becomes more mellow. The trademark gestures and turns of phrase are there when Cohen needs to reach for them, but she doesn’t rely on them.

The title is an interesting choice: it's a reference to her stroke, obviously, but also to a looser and freer performance style. Living at her brother's apartment, worried about healthcare costs and her career suddenly looking shaky, full throttle fabulousness would be too brittle to accommodate the telling of her experience. But this is hardly a sob story – Cohen's description of the surgery itself, for example, is never less than hilarious, one Julia Fox gag a particularly inspired moment.

There's so much love for Cohen in the room – she's a performer with many fans, and she loves them right back. Forced to cancel her Fringe run in 2023 because of her medical emergency, she's delighted to be here, as her final song makes clear. A little less ironic and a touch more vulnerable, Cat Cohen's persona continues to evolve.

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Cat Cohen: Broad Strokes, Pleasance Courtyard (Pleasance One), until 24 Aug (not 13 or 19), 9pm and Sat 16 Aug, 10.45pm, £17-20