Edinburgh Fringe comedy review

Ever since Cat Cohen burst onto the scene with her best newcomer-winning The Twist Is… She’s Gorgeous in 2019, she’s been an icon. That’s both in the cabaret diva sense of the word, and in the sense of being an emblem: the satirical epitome of self-centred Gen Z, brought up to believe they are special and deserve whatever they want.

Bad things could surely never happen to someone so blessed. Yet due to some cosmic mix-up, Cohen suffered a stroke at 31. The major medical scare has certainly brought a new dimension to the comedian’s glitzy solipsism, giving a good reason for her to be the centre of attention

Fizzing with main character energy, Cohen is not the sort of performer you would ever call ‘vulnerable’, at least not without lashings of irony (her native tongue). But without her explicitly acknowledging it, that’s the element that’s been added here.

Her hyperactive stage persona is toned down as she describes the migraines that have bugged her since childhood, the stroke itself, and her discovery that it was probably triggered by a hole in the heart she never knew she had, which could be fixed by an operation which she was fully awake for.

Aside from the fun Cohen has with the fact her cardiac surgeon was called Dr Love, stories of medical setbacks and procedures would not be the obvious fit with the New Yorker’s brash, glittery, egotist-acting-like-an-indulged star persona. 

Yet she balances the two skilfully, using songs to move between the camp, bitchy side that’s so attuned  to the pop cultural zeitgeist and the candid medical stories, told with levity, that provide an absorbing narrative.

The music is as stunning as always, with Cohen’s Broadway quality voice – crisp, powerful and rangey – belting out properly funny lyrics. She’s backed by pianist Frazer Hadfield, whom she occasionally has to reprimand for laughing and pulling focus, but making backing musicians crack up is usually the hallmark of a strong show.

And so it is in Broad Strokes, with Cohen’s witty storytelling and aloof one-liners perfectly married to her superstar performance to produce an impressive and funny piece of work.

Review date: 6 Aug 2025
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Reviewed at: Pleasance Courtyard