Helen Bauer hits the Fringe hard with this compelling comedy debut which is slick, sassy and super satisfying. Bauer is preposterously self indulgent, a self confessed attention seeker on a constant quest to be looked at and be looked after by the world around her. This could be perceived as a major personality flaw – but with Bauer, it’s just a whole lot of hilarity.
A provocative, edgy repartee on a life spent in scintillating self analysis.
Due to a mandatory enlisting into the illegal 'Ann Bauer School of Drama' at the age of ten, Bauer has become accustomed to re-enacting all the mundanities of life with the added panache required to make them stage-ready. We are entertained with tales of the two kebab technique; the imagined emotional turmoil of middle class teenagers, shopping in the tall persons section and power play scene stealing.
Bauer demonstrated a clever connection with the audience, never taking her eyes off us and involving us in many of her quips. As she regaled us with tales of her cool German grandparents, her liberal mum who didn't believe in dummies and her choice of cheese over an education, we feel an affinity with her which carries us with her on this lightening quick monologue which never gets deeper than fringe length determining levels of mental health issues. "The shorter they are, the closer to killing themselves they are."
On the evening this reviewer attended, an audience member chided Bauer for heckling her, by claiming she’d "paid for her lunch." I’ve observed far more experienced comics either go to pieces or lash out in the face of such a challenge, but Bauer dealt with it spectacularly. She wasn’t rattled in the least, treating the audience member gently and reassuring her that it would all come together in the end. Ultimately the audience member came across as spoilt and privileged, reinforcing everything Bauer had intended with her original heckle.
Bauer is fun, fiesty and a tad disturbed, and by the end of this fast paced hour you’ll be seriously questioning if you are also living in a real life Truman show – and considering just how much value you’re adding to the production. Little Miss Baby Angel Face isn’t challenging, but she’s already told us that this has never been her intention – she’s got "the emotional maturity of a six year old." What you will get is a provocative, edgy repartee on a life spent in scintillating self analysis, with lashings of ultimate bitch sparkle.
