Amy Hoggart as Pattie Brewster: Just a Normal Girl Doing a Cool Show

Rainbows, cats, speaking in tongues and Gabrielle; just some of the key elements of precocious schoolgirl Pattie Brewster’s self-help strategy. The creation of character comedian Amy Hoggart, Pattie’s got a lot going on just beneath the surface. She takes us through a range of happiness-inducing exercises, interspliced with some genuinely hilarious ‘man on the street’ interview video-segments. The whole thing is tied together with a Powerpoint presentation, the likes of which you might have seen creeping into standup in recent years. Pattie’s is a deranged delight, though, eking a laugh out of every new arrow or diagram, playing with the form as a pre-teen might and enhancing the world of the character along the way.

The show as a whole is awkward but you can’t help but fall for Pattie. Hoggart deserves praise for cultivating a creepy, almost off-putting Tim and Eric vibe and sticking with it full-throttle for the hour. It can’t be easy to alienate such small crowds but she’s doing some seriously interesting work here and there’s plenty to enjoy. Pattie as a character is well-formed: watch closely for the detail Hoggart infuses into this child-like persona. The slight tsk, the body language, it all adds to a piece of work that’s impressive in its commitment. Pattie might not make you feel as happy as she intends, but sometimes creepy can be just as funny.