Francesca Martinez: What the **** is Normal?!

When Francesca Martinez was first diagnosed with cerebral palsy the doctor told her parents that she would never live a normal life. But, as the self-confessed “world’s wobbliest comedian” counters, “everybody’s life is normal to them.”

There’s no doubt that Martinez’s life is not what many would consider normal, although not necessarily because of her disability. She describes meeting David Bowie while acting in Grange Hill, chewing the fat with Ricky Gervais (who later cast her in Extras) and being asked to carry the Olympic Torch.

These celebrity revelations are a mere footnote in this often touching show, which deals with the practicalities of growing up with cerebral palsy, attending school, a first kiss, and the quest for her perfect man – an impoverished Irish poet.

She frequently makes herself the butt of her own jokes. “It’s OK to laugh,” she implores, after explaining the fear that feeding her potential offspring with a fork could have disastrous consequences because of her condition.

She might be a fall guy, but she’s never a victim. Martinez delights in revealing how a careers advisor told her that a job in computers would be a better option than her now-fulfilled dream of becoming an actress.

While the theme is interesting, there just aren’t enough blockbuster punchlines and Martinez seems unsure whether she is going for out-and-out laughter or poignancy. She settles for the latter in a closing segment which, although tender, seems slightly contrived and out of place.