Gemma Goggin: Get Laid or Die Trying

Full disclosure: I was dreading this show. With a host of stand-ups and sketch troupes competing for my attention, was I really going to spend an hour listening to a desperate middle-aged woman expound upon her dismal dating failures? Fuller disclosure: I was wrong. Get Laid Or Die Trying is a charming show, gentler (read: less maneating) than its pitch might suggest. Goggin is absorbing in her frankness, and her unabashed tales of dating woe are refreshing when stripped bare of the machismo that usually accompanies such material on stage. Goggin is a confident presence, comfortable with her routine and only slightly thrown when a man in the front row, asked for his inside leg, replied ‘wet’. The show only meanders a little when Goggin dispels a list of sexual myths, and then proceeds to demonstrate the Kama Sutra’s most challenging positions, with the help of her inflatable dolls. These sections tend towards the mundane, and suffer without the pearls of Goggin’s own experience that are the true treat of this show. Goggin is at her best when recounting her sexual misadventures – and successes – without a trace of bitterness or misandry. This a warm, funny, and sometimes eye-opening show – and Goggin even leaves her number on stage at the end.

Since you’re here…

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You can donate to the charity of your choice, but if you're looking for inspiration, there are three charities we really like.

Mama Biashara
Kate Copstick’s charity, Mama Biashara, works with the poorest and most marginalised people in Kenya. They give grants to set up small, sustainable businesses that bring financial independence and security. That five quid you spend on a large glass of House White? They can save someone’s life with that. And the money for a pair of Air Jordans? Will take four women and their fifteen children away from a man who is raping them and into a new life with a moneymaking business for Mum and happiness for the kids.
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The Blurb

Laying herself bare to an audience of strangers daily, this sharp and sassy stand-up shares a hilarious account of the dating disasters and sexual shenanigans of her 20s. No holds barred.

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