Joan Rivers: Work in Progress by a Life in Progress

Hollywood's merciless obsession with youth is at the heart of Joan Rivers' autobiographical show, Work in Progress by a Life in Progress, in which she recounts her life in the limelight. With surprising candour, the 75-year old American comic, who premieres her new productionat the Fringe, tells of the constant, desperate battle against irrelevancy and redundancy that she faces as an ageing celebrity in the superficial world of show business.

The humour in the piece is of the typical Rivers variety: earnest but dated for the most part, punctuated by top-drawer filth and profanity. The charismatic comic is at her best when filleting Tinseltown for its myriad sins and contradictions, only to boldly practice the very same herself. Despite slamming the superficiality that pervades American culture, for example, she's famously addicted to plastic surgery, a vice betrayed by her own artificial appearance. Though she repeatedly sticks the finger up at her audience and tells them to fuck off, conversely she bathes in their sympathy, fearful of rejection from start to finish. It’s a marvel to behold.

Given how utterly dependent she is on the love of an audience, Rivers will probably die on stage – but she definitely doesn’t tonight. A well-earned standing ovation marks the curtain call of comedy's great dame.