Jessica Fostekew was nominated for an Edinburgh Comedy Award in 2019 and would have gone on to great things straight away if it hadn't been for lockdown. She has been doing OK though, cropping up on various TV stand-up showcases and this daytime set in the Latitude sunshine confirmed that she is definitely on the rise and keen to make up for lost time.

I recently saw Fostekew compering a gig in Peckham and this set was a mix of the shorter routines she used when she had her MC hat on with longer, newer comic stories. the stand-out section regarded her run-ins with the local school Whatsapp group. Even those of us who try to give Whatsapp groups a wide berth for the sake of our mental health will recognise the picture that Fostekew paints of a passive aggressive mum who has decided that she is the unelected spokesperson of the group and can't leave any message unanswered.

Fostekew has a strong punchy physicality onstage. Don't be taken in by the marshmallow-coloured dungarees, there's nothing soft here. But then as Fostekew points out, she lives in Catford and you need to be tough to get by there – it's the kind of place where you see people walking down the street carrying their bed on their back.

At one point I was tempted not to include any words here and instead just run a series of Fostekew images. As it happens the photo I took which came out best was a rare one of her smiling. If scowling or screwing up your face was an Olympic sport she'd probably be in Tokyo right now bagging golds.

Latitude also had the pleasure of her explaining how she had coped with lockdown by growing her body hair so long she no longer needs to use a towel in hotels, she can wipe herself dry. Now there's an image to conjure with. 

Jessica Fostekew Picture ©Dessau

Read a review of Sophie Duker at Latitude here.