Juliette Burton: Decision Time

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Perspective is a powerful thing. For instance, if you decide to see Juliette Burton's new show, you'll realise picking between Fringe shows isn't the most important thing in life. 

It's not a downbeat hour by any means, but it's fair to say she's made some tough choices in her time. Mental health, suicide, marriage; she delves deep into the turmoil that the crossroads of life can cause. Offsetting this nicely is her irrepressible cheer and sunny disposition, as she finds the right amount of levity to keep it all looking upwards. At times she strays too far into compere-like hosting rather than delivering the material naturally, but perhaps it's a stage persona that helps her be so open about her tribulations.

On the screen behind her is a video projection with slides to provide a visual cue (there's even a literal mindmap of all the junctions she's navigated in her life). It's touches like these that give it an intelligent and reflective feel, but sadly detract from the comedic value. It's hard to be funny when you're clicking through a powerpoint full of key dates and holiday pictures. 

She's dealing with sensitive and deeply personal topics, so our emotional investment is there, but the rumble of laughter is not. In setting herself the near impossible task of catering to a mainstream audience's potentially limited knowledge of mental health, whilst infusing it with traditional standup conventions, she's still managed to produce a show that's edifying and heartfelt.