Tiffany Stevenson: Cavewoman

For all the foreboding prevalence of leopard-print velour on Cavewoman’s poster, Tiffany Stevenson makes an understated entrance in a baggy jumper, greeting the crowd with ruffled warmth. Thematic material? What a prehistoric notion. Cavewoman is formless and meandering, reminiscent not so much of a standup set as a particularly funny mag-fuelled gab-sesh with a gal-pal. 

Stevenson name-checks Jordan, Rihanna and Tina Turner early on, then bitches rudimentarily about the yummy mummies on the bus. Somehow she gets to Sir Howard Grubb, inventor of the periscope, then back to Tina Turner. What really joins the hour’s variegated topics is just how likeable the working-class Londoner is. 

Still, Stevenson’s rambling rapport and Heat Magazine material belies the sharpness of her writing. The star of ITV's Show Me The Funny is clearly a fan of Urban Dictionary, she contrives context for "frig" (v.) and "chuff" (n.) as well as brilliantly dubbing any bedsit suitor’s attempt to seduce via acoustic guitar "base-peacocking". Her delivery too is winsome. A disingenuous abortion gag may have nasty shades of Gervais, but Stevenson serves it with a sugar-sweet smile. 

Like any friendly gossip, though, Cavewoman eventually runs out of energy and Stevenson starts griping about her cat or the mice infestation in her flat while you’re really just staring out the window nodding. You’d readily meet up with Stevenson again, but perhaps over coffee next time.