The Biscuit Land of the title is neither a real place, nor a fantasy setting. Performer Jess Thom says the word “biscuit” thousands of times a day. After watching the show, Biscuit Land feels like a perspective, an approach – Thom letting us see things her way. It’s an angle of unrestrained creativity.

Thom was diagnosed with Tourette syndrome in her mid-20s, though has lived with various tics throughout her life. “Biscuit” is her most common now, though there have been others: “I love cats,” “Merry Christmas!” and the see-you-next-Tuesday of a small horse have all been regulars.

Near the production’s opening, Thom gives the audience express permission to laugh at everything she says and does throughout the show – “to be honest, it’d be a bit weird if you didn’t.” The consent is more than welcome, because it would be very difficult not to laugh at what transpires. Backstage in Biscuit Land is hilarious.

Jess Mabel Jones accompanies Thom throughout. Nicknamed Chopin through Thom’s tics throughout the rehearsal process, the name’s stuck, and she is referred to as Chopin all night to avoid confusion between the two. There to keep things on track, with an emergency script in hand in case Thom fits, Chopin proves herself more than capable of cracking up the audience, too.

A one-woman show featuring a brilliant double act? Who wouldn’t want to see that?

Donald Trump was a recurrent figure of fun and fright on the night. (His shadow looms inescapably large at the moment.) Chopin defended her mother, who got an involuntary first-name shout-out from Thom, against bestiality accusations. An anthropomorphic wheelchair showed off its knack for self-promotion. A dolphin talked about tits. And both performers had great “serious monologue bits.”

Backstage in Biscuit Land is a relaxed performance, which means that it is specifically intended to welcome people who might need to “wriggle around a bit,” as Chopin puts it, including those with verbal or motor tics, learning disabilities, or on the autism spectrum. At one such performance is where Chopin and Jess first met. Chopin recounts their meet-cute, and it is (obviously) very funny, but surprisingly touching, too. The words of strangers sharing their experiences have such power. This is something of which this production reminds us constantly.

No two editions of this show would ever be the same. That is something special for the audience. It’s rare to find something you might see two or three times and be consistently tickled, but Backstage in Biscuit Land seems like one such show.   ★★★★☆   Will Amott   18th January 2017