Tamsyn Kelly’s show speaks about all the important issues: daddy issues, childhood crushes on Mr Blobby, and the taste of cum.
Originally from Cornwall, but currently living in the Big Smoke because she “hates being happy”, we take a deep dive into Kelly’s life during a riotously funny hour.
As soon as the show begins the punchlines come so fast you’re at risk of whiplash. This pacing begins to dwindle slightly towards the end but I believe the only reason this is noticeable is because of how strong the show starts, with continuous hilarity. Her delivery is so natural at times it feels improvised, and throughout she bounces off the audience forming an immediate connection with them.
In one of the most hysterical comedy sets I’ve witnessed, Kelly very quickly reels the audience in and keeps us there throughout. Every joke lands flawlessly, and her bubbly persona shines.
She also touches on some darker areas of her personal life, including her abusive father, she makes light of her experiences by implementing a satirical edge to her comedy, yet her past traumas and their effects are never diminished or downplayed. Kelly uses visual aids in the form of videos on a screen which works well to tell her stories and allows us further insight into her life – amplifying the hilarity of certain situations – namely the Chicken Shop Dad.
Kelly is relatable, hilarious, and someone I’d love to go on a night out with. She’s truly one to watch on the fringe circuit, with an incredibly fresh and exciting show. Perhaps if you’re not already crying in TK Maxx at 8.40 pm, you can make it along to the show, you’re guaranteed to laugh.
The infamous Sh!t Faced Showtime are back in London with a festive edition, they have taken Dickens’ classic and put a drunken spin on it. The formula is the same as other iterations of the Shi!t Faced shows, one member of the cast has been boozing, and this time it is John Milton who plays Scrooge. Before the show, half a bottle of Jim Beam, some wine, and beer have been consumed in the previous 4 hours. The rest of the cast, try to keep the show on track, also aided by James Murfitt as the compere, Charles Dickens. The … More A PISSEDMAS CAROL – REVIEW – LEICESTER SQUARE
Spine-tingling yet heart-warming, Mark Gatiss’s retelling of A Christmas Carol truly encapsulates the haunting atmosphere of a Victorian ghost story, balanced out with enough humour so as to capture the festive season. Led by Keith Allen as Scrooge, with Peter Forbes as Marley, this show is perfect for Christmas viewing. The set design by Paul Wills is instantly captivating, containing stacks of metal cabinets towering over the theatre, moveable by the cast to allow space for other central props like doors, beds and tables. In addition to this, the puppetry design by Matthew Forbes is incredibly clever, adding creepy elements to the show such … More A CHRISTMAS CAROL – REVIEW – ALEXANDRA PALACE
The title of this winner of Theatre 503’s 2023 International Playwriting Award by Roxy Cook may seem like the set-up to a joke, but the narrative that unspools is instead an affectionate, gently barbed and at base quite sobering portrait of three ordinary souls (and one restless feline) adrift in modern Moscow. There is much affable, satirical back-and-forth commentary on the accepted myths & stereotypes of the Russian spirit & soul. Beset by the indignities of age, opportunism, graft, fatigue, the characters orbit one another, doomed to play out their roles in an unjust, predatory and saturnine universe. The play opens … More A WOMAN WALKS INTO A BANK – REVIEW – THEATRE503
Peter Pan Goes Wrong first premiered in London at the Pleasance Theatre in 2013, and earlier this year the show made its Broadway debut. Now the production is back in the West End for the Christmas season. Following on from The Play That Goes Wrong, in this production, J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan is staged by the fictitious Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society and goes awry, disastrously so. The meta-comedy is filled with slapstick comedy, sometimes the humour may be predictable and silly, but it’s universally funny throughout – there is something for everyone here, and the laughs come thick and fast … More PETER PAN GOES WRONG – REVIEW – LYRIC THEATRE
Drawing heavily from the classic canon of the British supernatural, HighTide’s trio of contemporary Gothic narratives uses traditional storytelling formats to address contemporary themes. Directed by Elayce Ismail, reverent musical interludes accompany tales of apparitions and nighttime conjurings that speak of women from the East of England. Unfortunately, the effect is less chilling and more lightweight, with conventional structures, predictable plot twists and an over-reliance on external forces to drive narrative shoring up some of the less relatable aspects of the genre. Nicola Werenowska’s The Beach House, perhaps the cleanest of the three tales, tells of a mother and daughter’s … More GHOST STORIES BY CANDLELIGHT – REVIEW – SAM WANAMAKER PLAYHOUSE