Dawn French: Thirty Million Minutes

The warm glow of positivity that suffuses UK comedian Dawn French's stand-up show Thirty Million Minutes is evident from the very beginning, when a pre-gig voiceover declares that "utterly lovely people" are its target audience. Tossers, on the other hand, can hit the bricks.

It's a tone that continues through the two-hour show, which provides a solid platform for French's many facets — primarily her ultra-appealing combination of devilish and daggy, but with some serious moments of reflection and revelation thrown in.

The thirty million minutes of the title refers (roughly) to the amount of time French has been alive, and it's a framework that enables her to look back at a mostly happy but occasionally mortifying childhood and an adult life that has delivered an emotional smorgasbord of joy, fulfilment, sadness and understanding.

And while the majority of Thirty Million Minutes has French mashing together self-deprecation and self-confidence (there are a lot of moments that come off as a light-hearted TED Talk about the power of positive thinking) to winning and humorous effect, sections about her beloved father's suicide and the realisation that her first marriage was over have terrific impact and sensitivity.

For the most part, however, French is out to make you laugh with Thirty Million Minutes, and it's hard not to give in and giggle, especially when she's a writer of such quick, slick wit and a performer of such abundant, adorable charm and prowess.