Here she be: Nat Luurtsema, one third of the critically acclaimed sketch trio ‘Jigsaw’, back in Edinburgh with her first solo stand-up show in three years. Luurtsema has had quite the time of it in recent years, joking that after her break-up with sketch partner Tom Craine her life went from good, to bad, to worse. After the break-up, Luurtsema had to move back to Watford with her parents in her late twenties. She’s even written a book about it. The funny thing is that this year both Craine and Luurtsema are hosting rival stand-up shows, both speaking about the aftermath of their relationship from way back when. However, Luurtsema seems to have the upper hand as she’s performing her show for free and has a few embarrassing anecdotes about Craine to boot.
It seems there is no bad blood between Luurtsema and Craine as they still perform together in Jigsaw. Luurtsema mentioned that she had already seen Craine’s show Crying On A Waltzer, but seemed a little dubious about him seeing hers. Luurtsema was instantly loveable - she is witty, self-deprecating and even has a slightly dark sense of humour. This show was like reading the Mail Online, in that it felt quite juicy to hear about her relationship with another well-established comedian. Yet part of me felt that this performance was simply therapeutic for Luurtsema. She clearly still thinks deeply about her relationship with Craine, revealing that he’s the only man she’s ever truly loved. She just couldn’t handle his disgusting ways, such as peeing in coke cans.
This show isn’t just about Craine, despite the title of it being named after what Craine would say every time Luurtsema entered a room. Luurtsema focuses heavily on what happened after her relationship; being chatted up by teenagers and moving back home with mum and dad. Luurtsema gives a hilarious but very real performance. We’ve all been there and as an audience it was therapeutic for us to hear someone talk about heartbreak in a very different way. Luurtsema is a delight to watch and an extremely talented individual.
