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Krystal Evans: The Hottest Girl at Burn Camp

 
Laura Tucker Review by Laura Tucker 4 Published: 21 Aug 2023 Monkey Barrel Comedy (The Hive) Show Dates: 2 Aug 2023-27 Aug 2023

The Hottest Girl at Burn Camp is a mom-centred stand-up set that unpacks the trauma of being raised by a bi-polar parent with a balance of darkness and sharp humour.

Krystal turns trauma into catharsis in her mom-centred stand up

In talking of her working-class upbringing, Evans is quick to admit that the name Krystal has its stereotypes. One American audience member helpfully describes the name as having ‘trailer park trash’ connotations, an assertion which Evans doesn’t try to deny.

Having set the tone for the show, Evans keys us in on her childhood growing up in the US, charting movements from town to town to outrun her mother’s destructive behaviour. Often, however, the drama had a habit of catching up with them and the scars remain prominent.

As the show’s subject matter gets weightier, Evans maintains deadpan delivery, a character trait she ascribes to her difficult upbringing. But Evans’ unsmiling expression also works well to build in a level of unpredictability, setting us up for a number of unforeseen laughs and gut punches.

While others remark on the bravery of addressing such traumatic subject matter, for Evans it seems a sort of catharsis, and she deems it necessary, as the only one who can tell this particular story. Rather than follow in her mother’s footsteps, Evans would rather share her shortcomings without malice or bitterness and, in the process, heal as a person.

A show that is as much for her audience as it is for herself to process the past, we are grateful to be a part of it. In charting her rollercoaster journey into adulthood and motherhood herself, we gain insight into what makes Evans so self-aware and cynical, loving her all the more for it.

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The Blurb:

Krystal's sizzling debut hour finds the humour in escaping a house-fire, death, tragedy and mental illness, and how all this has – somewhat ironically – made her life funnier. An emotional rollercoaster of a show that offers a viciously funny take on some of the defining moments in Krystal’s life. As seen on: BBC’s Comedy Underground, Scot Squad, Breaking the News. Tour support for Stewart Francis and Zoe Lyons. Leicester Mercury New Comedian of the Year finalist. One of the most-anticipated newcomer shows of this year's Fringe. ‘Just perfect’ **** (BroadwayBaby.com).