Giada Garofalo has a penchant for pointlessly over-thinking things – an activity she calls “mental wanking”. Her Fringe debut is the result of her taking a one-year-sabbatical from sex, in order to clear her mind and focus on herself, a show that explores grief, and courage. With her unbridled thought exercises, and by trawling through her troubled adolescence, Garofalo takes us through why, until recently, she was so prone to depression or, as her therapist put it, had a “tendency to be bipolar”. Though she warns that it can get dark at some points, the more personal her material became, the more interesting it was. Laughter came naturally and frequently in this show, that displays a young woman’s honest and courageous confrontation with herself.

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, until 25 Aug, 4.30pm.
tw rating 4/5 | [Kyung Oh]