Brenda Monk is funny - Katy Brand

Brenda Monk is a true hardcore stand-up, it's itching under her skin; bubbling up. She's addicted to being on stage, looking out at expectant faces, waiting for the first laugh to hit. She sees potential material in everything and gets sweaty-palmed if she hasn't been on stage in more than 48 hours. It doesn't matter where, it doesn't matter when. No distance is too great, no slot too late.

But she wasn't always this way. The on-off girlfriend of a successful comedian who spends weekends hundreds of miles away telling gags about their relationship, she realises his best stage material consists of recycled versions of her own restless, smart-arsed energy and decides she might be better off keeping her jokes for herself. Before long she makes her very first walk to the mark on stage in front of a bare brick wall, with just a spotlight and a PA system for cover.

As much about the thrill of performance as it is about what goes on when the microphone is switched off, Brenda Monk is Funny is a whip-smart, devastatingly candid snapshot of the reality, the brutality and fragility of the comedy industry from an exciting new voice in fiction. It's enough to give anyone butterflies.