Katie Norris may be only 36 but she stalks the earth with an otherworldly shadow of ageless evil, embracing her Mother Succubus alter-ego as fiercely cynical agony aunt for younger women and violent harpy against the attentions of unsuitable men. And with her excellently grotesque comic acting, cycling through an impressive array of characters, allied to her redoubtable singing voice, she’s quite the entertainment all-rounder too, an intimidating prospect.
Or at least, that’s the legend, as she dismisses her winged familiar to the rafters. Beneath this overbearing characterisation, is a woman who’s been on 143 dates without any great success, shrinks from confrontations that her former double act partner causes in restaurants and seems stuck in a nostalgia hole for the rascally Eurotrash. And while she yet speaks admiringly of Beef Wellington mushroom poisoner Erin Patterson, Norris shares even greater vulnerability than ever before in this show.
Against the odds, she seems to have found a fulfilling relationship, her showstopping final number both the pick of some tremendous tunes and an endearing challenge to the diabolic caricature that’s threatened to pigeonhole her.
For someone with such an obvious range of talents, she makes a pretty endearing sympathy case too.
Katie Norris: Mother Succubus, Pleasance Courtyard, until 30 Aug, 9.25pm