The Wee Room at the Three Sisters is a suitable space for this intimate hour of comedic storytelling from charming New York resident Bailey Swilley. A show of this kind of vulnerability wouldn’t have the same impact in a larger room. A candid tale of grief and growing up, it’s the kind of show that will be familiar to practically everyone. But there will be parts of the tale that will have a similarly universal resonance.

Young Bailey was a precocious child convinced she was going to be a star. She was indulged by her father but ignored by her theatre teacher, the target of her ambitions. That is until her teacher discovered Swilley’s dad was Taiwanese and suddenly she was cast in an Asian role despite her mother’s genes dominating her appearance. But Bailey’s dreams of being Tennessee’s answer to Scarlett Johansson were curtailed by a death in the family, and the first of three ghosts she had to exorcise in various ways.

Whether you’re a believer or not, Swilley’s tales of teenage rebellion, menstrual mishaps, and ghostly grandmas are vividly painted and studded with fine gags. Her solipsistic younger years she depicts with a certain ironic wryness. There are still traces of young theatre kid Bailey visible, as… well, she’s at the Fringe telling her story. It kind of goes with the territory. She adopts a light, irreverent tone throughout that understandably slips a little when she gets to the more painful parts of her story. If you couldn’t guess, the relationship with her dad builds to something crushing, and the compact nature of the room is all the better to see the eyes of some audience members glitter with empathy.

But ‘Gimme a Sign!’ isn’t a maudlin show by any means. From the darkest of times comes further amusing tales of mean Taiwanese grandmothers with penchants for witchcraft, and unsuitable boyfriends who prove stubbornly difficult to jettison. Although it’s a show that stems from grief, it’s a story of resilience and humour that clearly remains a very potent method of healing for its creator.

‘Gimme a Sign’ is a sweet, intimate, and frequently moving piece. It’s well-structured and paced and the familiarity of its themes and format prove little hindrance to enjoyment. Bailey Swilley is an innately likeable performer, and though it’s obvious that the show has been honed to precision with hardly a pause or stumble, she never comes across as rote. You can tell it’s still a deeply emotional journey every time.

‘Gimme a Sign!‘ has now finished its run