Words: Rosie Hall

4 stars

It’s very hot in the venue at the Appleton Tower, something which doesn’t escape Alana Jackson as she surveys the audience. ‘You’s warm enough?’, she asks. ‘Should we chuck the heating on?’ Her whip-smart, dry Glasgow humour characterises the stand-up’s debut solo hour at the Fringe, as she rattles through various topics such as bingo, being a Megabus survivor, and interpretative dancing as a Bag for Life with affability and aplomb.

It is at times hard to believe Jackson is a comedy newcomer: she has the confidence and prowess of a much more experienced comedian, a slight weakness only visible in a hesitance to fully engage in crowd-work with an admittedly shy audience. The set’s material plays around the loose theme of being a Glaswegian lassie in London and many of Jackson’s anecdotes seem to take place in a pub, even culminating in a fun pub quiz segment at the end. She has remarkable observational skills and brings out a cast of vibrant and full-bodied characters, from an American student discovering Irn Bru for the first time to the smarmy voice-over from Sun, Sex and Suspicious Parents.

Jackson’s debut hour comes in the wake of her So You Think You’re Funny? victory at the festival last year, where judges praised her ‘…amiability reminiscent of a good friend down the pub’. Cheers to that. A sparkling, spirited debut show from an exciting and impressive new talent.

Alana Jackson: Last Orders
Pip at Gilded Balloon at Appleton Tower
17.00
30th July – 24th August