A hit at the Edinburgh Festival last year, Cautionary Kate has recently ran at the King’s Head Theatre. Starring Katie Sherrard and directed by Sadie Spencer, this one-woman show focuses on a young woman trying to remember the events of the previous evening. Two voices are everpresent in her head – her id/ego: positive, reassuring, a buffer to the niggling doubts she has. Then there is her superego: chastising, negative and wanting ‘Kate’ to face reality and some cold, hard facts.

It’s a straightforward premise, but what really makes the show is Sherrard’s physical performance. Almost everything she does engenders a laugh from the audience, either interacting with them directly or fantasising about being successful or popular like a modern day Walter Mitty.

I confess I didn’t know too much about the show prior to seeing it, but I think that worked to my advantage, not having any expectations. From the word go I laughed. And laughed. And laughed.

Certainly the intimacy of the venue created a greater bonhomie, but even so, it’s rare to find a show – play or stand-up – that elicits that much laughter with ease.

© Michael Davis 2017

Cautionary Kate ran at the King’s Head Theatre on 29th and 30th January 2017.