American comedian and actor Tig Notaro seems to have more than her fair share of health issues. She first sprang to prominence a decade ago when she performed a groundbreakingly honest set about having breast cancer. Her latest show, Hello Again, opens with the star carrying a crutch after an altercation with the ground at Manchester Airport.
As with her double mastectomy, her various recent physical travails inspire some memorable moments onstage. As well as the walking aid, which is both practical and deployed for comic effect, there is an extended anecdote about therapy after a back injury which culminates in a visually arresting piece of clowning as she scoots sideways like a crab.
Most of this exquisitely funny show consists of stories where the trim 52-year-old, recently seen in TV hit The Morning Show, embraces being the butt of the gag. There's the realisation that she is the least popular parent when her sons show indifference on her return. Then there is the shock when this "old-fashioned lesbian" finds herself attracted to a fireman – she always thought if she was straight she'd go for artistic types, not some moustachioed Magic Mike meathead.
The stand-out routine is about how her hearing has started letting her down, prompting social gaffes. Most notably during a meeting with Reece Witherspoon, when she misheard an aside about Nicole Kidman and her reply sent the conversation crashing into a verbal brick wall. There was an added frisson that from the cheap seats Notaro currently bears an uncanny resemblance to Tom Cruise.
If the first section felt laid-back yet precision-tooled, the shorter post-interval set threw a real curveball into the mix. I'd already heard that Notaro plays piano on this brief UK tour, but I doubt if she has had the chance to play anything as grand and imposing as the Steinway at Cadogan Hall. If 'play' is the right word...
Seated on the stool Notaro skilfully bantered with the audience before chatting about being at a glittery LA party where the likes of Ariana Grande and Bruno Mars sang. Adele was there too, when Notaro stepped up with her own distinctive rendition of Hello.
There is a real will-she, won't-she tension as she stretches out the wait for the re-enactment. What is soon abundantly clear is that she is no Adele and she knows it, extracting maximum humour from the moment. Fortunately what is also abundantly clear is that she can entertain her comedy fans like a true maestro.
