Kerry Godliman, G-Live review - she's livid but delivers the laughs

Kerry Godliman is livid, she tells us. Spider webs catching in her hair, the state of the world, her teenage children; you name it, they – and much, much more – irritate her. But she’s hoping it’s a temporary state, as she puts her current maelstrom of emotions down to the fact that she’s going through the perimenopause. And while it may not be a barrel of laughs for her, it provides plenty in Bandwidth.

From the moment she skips on to the stage, Godliman delivers a high-energy set, bouncing between ideas at a mile a minute and fizzing about this and that – from her husband’s inability to pack the pants drawer properly and her being unable to retain anything in her brain, to her worrying love of Decathlon shops and apocalyptic dramas. 

She has reached the "giving zero fucks" point in her life – she has no spare bandwidth – and she’s going to tell us all about it.

Godliman gets in a juicy dig at comics who create podcasts about being dads – “Done a bit of parenting have you, lads?” – as well as the overconfidence of Gen Zers, who patronise her generation as being past it. But there’s no malice here, even when she’s taking down the national treasure David Attenborough – rather a “How did I get to be this person?” bafflement that causes a lot of laughter of recognition in the room.

Along the way, the Taskmaster and After Life star talks about the humiliation of falling over in the street, doing cognitive exercises to keep her brain active – hello to the front row! – and the small things that make us feel like we’re winning in life.

It’s all good, relatable stuff and Godliman is such a warm presence on stage that even the edgier stuff is delivered  – and received with – a laugh. There are some swipes here at misogyny and how women of a certain age are reclaiming their voice, but they’re subtle – and besides, she’s soon on to the next subject in a gag-packed show.

Remarkably, she maintains the high energy throughout the hour, never letting the pace dip, even in the occasional exchanges with the front row. 

• Touring until 3 December
• More comedy reviews on theartsdesk