Meet the birthday girls Rose Johnson, Camille Ucan and Beattie Edmondson. These three faces may seem familiar, as they were once part of all-female sketch troupe Lady Garden. However, now they have rebranded and are back at the Fringe to present their debut act ‘Birthday Girls’ with a sketch show directed by Pappy’s Tom Parry.
In this show we are transported to the dystopian future of 2053, a year where all comedy is banned by the regime. The ladies use sketches to rebel and when the alarm bells sound, they camouflage their rebellion by creating a fake Scottish soap opera that is utterly hilarious. Admittedly, all this does seem a little far-fetched and the show would probably be better if it wasn’t attached to such a bizarre idea and they just stuck to performing silly skits.
Johnson, Ucan and Edmondson gave a fearless performance. They were willing to do anything to get a laugh no matter how grotesque, including belly dancing dangerously close to the audience as well as a revolting skit that involved spaghetti bolognaise. Some sketches were almost too kooky to be funny, with a couple of punchlines even going down without a laugh.
Whether as part of Birthday Girls or separately, these three ladies are likely to follow in Edmondson’s mother’s (Jennifer Saunders) footsteps as stars of the stage or screen.