Review: Liz Kingsman Pulls Apart Post-Fleabag Comedy

'So unflinching you'll be begging for a flinch', runs the tagline for Liz Kingsman's solo show.

You might know Kingsman as one third of Massive Dad, a brilliant sketch comedy trio that seem to have put the group shows on ice for now, in favour of side projects (including the Nobody Panic podcast and forthcoming book, from the other two thirds of the group).

Unfortunately Kingsman's solo show is fantastic, suggesting she'll be too busy getting schmoozed by Netflix execs to be resuming #thatdadlife in the immediate future. And actually that's where the extremely meta metaplot of her show starts — with the anonymous female lead getting ready to record a confessional, warts-and-all, 'very brave', hour of deeply personal revelations from her past.

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Parodying the post-Fleabag trend for messy, troubled, yet ultimately v v relatable female leads navigating the modern world of womanhood — you know, having empowering casual sex and empowering intra-coital Magnums, dropping fourthwallbusting monologues and hanging out with their tokenly northern best friend slash plot device — One-Woman Show's hilarious, absurdist and insightful, mixing in character comedy, visual gags, and casual riffs on Big Discourse.

The satire's affectionate. The sex scenes are, yes, unflinching. And the puns are valiant.

If we haven't given much actual detail, that's because it's too good to risk spoilers — and much too good to miss.

One-Woman Show by Liz Kingsman runs till 23 October at Soho Theatre — tickets start at £17.