Katie Mulgrew’s debut solo Edinburgh show is a charmingly chatty walk through the comedian’s life, from the large-headed daughter of Jimmy Cricket who struggled as a child in securing her own identity, to unexpectedly following in her dad’s footsteps. Mulgrew herself declares ‘I didn’t want to be a comedian’, a bold statement perhaps to begin a stand-up show with, but one that she subsequently explains and justifies through witty childhood anecdotes about growing up with a famous father.
Mulgrew herself, whilst clearly nervous, is brilliantly warm and welcoming and her likeability is exceptional. She therefore wins the audience over from the off, and I found myself willing and wanting her to be funny because I felt so instantly charmed and personally addressed by her. From tales of family performances growing up in a home where the children were ‘encouraged to be performers’, to good, natural banter with the audience, Mulgrew’s show was delightfully engaging. She is successful in providing an honest introspective look into how her childhood experiences have shaped her adult self, announcing ‘I resented stand-up comedy because it made me feel really bad about myself’.
At moments, jokes and stories felt a bit long-winded, a bit waffling and needing some good editing and Mulgrew, perhaps simply from nerves, was quite repetitive; often summarising and recapping what she had just said slightly unnecessarily. This was a shame but didn’t take away from what was overall an amusing and warm-hearted hour, and I’m sure with practice those less fluent moments will be ironed out.
