Wickedly naughty and deliciously dark, Kate’s dual talents as a comedian and singer/songwriter are ripe for consumption. Forbidden fruits aplenty, come and enjoy the toe-curling honesty that makes this show a stand out in the comedy lineup this year.
The chortles are continuous and her likability as a performer plus engagement with the audience make for a great evening of comedy.
Kate Lucas is taking a poo on a dull Tuesday. At the very same moment somewhere in the pit of her stomach she gets a feeling, a sixth sense if you will, that her time is up. Here is where it ends, on the toilet of a shitty apartment in Brixton. Her hapless history of saying the wrong thing at the wrong moment, of never making anything much of her short and not particularly sweet time on this earth, comes back to haunt Kate as her life flashes before her eyes. Death is fast approaching, and she’ll be damned if she can’t stop it – she’s still got a lot of stuff to do.
Kate uses this near death experience to guide us through the narrative of all her biggest gripes, unsatisfying boyfriends, crappy bosses and lukewarm friends – all through the medium of song. With melodies as catchy as chlamydia, and lyrics that offend and delight in equal measure, Kate is a true master of satiric songwriting. Questions we’ve all asked ourselves are explored in grim detail. Is God really that great or is he a cheating egomaniac? Why don’t children come with a money-back guarantee? How come fairytale Princesses don’t have mothers and seriously, who can I ask about cursing my ex-boyfriend with a world of small, but scalable, maladies. Really no summary can do these titles justice, they need to be seen to be believed.
The comedy sometimes suffers from a lack of the feeling of spontaneity, and Kate struggles with the improv required from unwanted audience participation. And perhaps the ‘sad confessions of a young woman struggling to make a difference’ angle is a little overplayed in Fringe comedy, yet the freshness of the dark humour lifts otherwise hackneyed tropes. It isn’t laugh-until-you-can’t-breathe comedy, but the chortles are continuous and her likability as a performer plus engagement with the audience (when planned) make for a great evening of comedy.
