Susie McCabe offers a solid hour of observational comedy: after a difficult year, she has negotiated the collapse of her marriage, the death and funeral of her father and the unexpected arrival of a nephew in her new home. With her distinctive and very Glaswegian humour, McCabe dissects the ironies of becoming like a parent, the dark humour of death and family and hints at a political rage coming from a sympathy for the pressures of the wider political collapse.
Although her humour is easy to label – working class, West Coast, lesbian and resistant to middle-class easy answers, her strength is in her presence and personality. Stories about internet dating, the challenge of having a public profile and bonding with a nephew are given a personal and personable flavour, despite their predictability. Reaching out into more forceful subjects – her father’s funeral, or a brief commentary on the politics of being caught between the boomers and the millennials and Generation Z, are bracing and funnier – not least because of their darker wit.
Ultimately, McCabe is winning and lively, landing the lighter observational routines and digging deeper into the tougher material: Coming of Rage promises anger but delivers comfortable laughter.
Susie McCabe: Coming of Rage, Assembly George Square, until 30 Aug (not 17), 20.45