A flawless show from accomplished comedian
My only criticism is that I wished the show would go on.
31 is a story of Jayde’s life so far, and more specifically a story of the highs and lows of gaining her confidence. From her early days as a competition freestyle disco dancer, to the sports day when she learned she could gain the respect of her peers from clowning about, to her life now living in trendy-London, with a group of sassy drag queens. A violently explicit tale, we hear all the gory truths of her youth, with no detail spared. A poor audience member is singled out from the very beginning. The sparring with said audience member continues to a climax where Jayde brings the begrudging punter onto stage where they perform an interpretative dance with her with hilarious and slightly scary consequences. The story is weaved with a narrative about her sister, Jenna, that Jayde always felt in the shadow of. Jenna’s story comes out towards the end and gives the whole evening a special kind of resonance that doesn’t detract from the raucous comedy, but instead simply adds a gravitas that makes the whole set that bit more special.
Jayde Adams is one very, very funny lady. This is a little reductionist though. Jayde Adams is a very very funny lady, unbelievably good singer, soul-stirring storyteller, Eminem aficionado, the 11th best Adele impersonator in the country and fairly decent freestyle disco dancer. If the success of comedy came down to just the person Jayde has it made. Everything about Jayde is enviable; her confidence, her fiery personality, the command she had over the audience, even her dungarees. The sort of woman you want to go for a beer with and then dancing. She’s whip-smart and a true improviser; her audience patter is as funny as her planned material.
My only criticism is that I wished the show would go on; I found myself quite sad at the end of the hour that it was over. As part of the Free Fringe program it will only cost you whatever you think it’s worth. With this in mind, missing this show would be a big mistake.
