Original and intelligent, Rachel Stubbings presents her live agony-aunt show. The audience can submit their own problems to be solved, but most of the set actually revolves around Stubbings - the world's most useless agony aunt.
Between eulogising about her life and how 'gifted' she is, she answers Skype calls from people wanting her to solve their problems. Stubbings attempts to give advice, most of which is misguided and insensitive. Hilarity ensues. The routine is timed perfectly with the videos, which are the best moments of the whole show, revealing more about Stubbings' life than she intended. Kudos to the actors involved in the videos - they complement Stubbings brilliantly. Her performance is perfectly polished and professional, complete with her own catch-phrase. Her ego and tactlessness is reminiscent of David Brent, but she is also cringingly funny and manages to be sweetly endearing at the same time as being horrifyingly obnoxious.
Stubbings exudes fresh energy. Her persona is all too believable and it's easy to become captivated by her weird little world. There's a real feeling of spontaneity and the audience are kept on their toes, not quite sure what's going to happen next. The more her show unravels, with all the wrong people turning up on Skype, the more her façade of confidence crumbles. This adds a bittersweet edge to the satirical atmosphere and by the end an audience feels surprisingly moved. There are some priceless moments in this show and Stubbings, with all her faults and foibles, is wonderfully entertaining company.
