Catriona Knox - Hellcat

With each audience member awaiting the result of their eternal judgement for the duration of the show, Hellcat offers the possibility of the most feel-good ending at the Fringe. Before our fate is revealed, however, we must first endure an hour's suspense and some appropriately harrowing audience interaction.

One third of sketch troupe the Boom Jennies, Catriona Knox has been forging a concurrent career as a solo performer, growing steadily in confidence and ability over the years. While her previous shows were hampered by a reliance on broad stereotypes and pop culture references, her latest offering is a classy step forward. One is unlikely to find more consistent and inventive character comedy in Edinburgh this month.

While an undoubted show highlight is the melodramatic, slow burning monologue delivered by a surprisingly eloquent pre-schooler, Knox's talents are best observed as she delivers a routine lacking in any real dialogue. Portraying a European of unspecified nationality, she relates her wedding day to us through pictorial aids, streams of clipped gibberish and expressive gesticulation. Soon surrogate parents are recruited and the situation is escalated to a brilliantly sour conclusion, the reluctant family members responding as though to a real person. A sketch based on Velvet Underground chanteuse Nico may unduly assume knowledge of the singer's solo career, but otherwise Hellcat is an accessible and involving gem waiting to find the audience it deserves.