Deborah Frances-White: Half A Can of Worms (Edinburgh Fringe)

Long lost family is a hot topic at the moment, from the tearjerking ITV programme of the same name to celebrities looking back into their family history on Who Do You Think You Are?

Comedian Deborah Frances-White has brought her own story of finding her birth mother to the Fringe.

Starting with a slideshow of childhood photos, Half A Can of Worms threatens to become saccharine from the start, but Frances-White tells an engaging, humorous and heartwarming story of a woman wanting to look behind the curtain of her adoption.

The show takes a while to warm up, and drags in parts – the 75 minute running time threatens to spill over into self-indulgence – but Frances-White’s tales of private investigators, late night phone calls and Google stalking, not to mention matching eyebrows to 100 year old pictures, provide a touching insight into the world of adoption.

Deborah Frances-White: Half A Can of Worms runs at Pleasance Dome until 25 August

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