Farrah Alice Black is not afraid to say she has lived through some of the most inexplicable events with honesty and a strong build up of resilience in her twenty-four years of being on this planet. Her one woman comedy stand up show Rambunctious Scallywag showcases Black's observational, quirky wit as she tells her life story so far with positive and joyful insight, giving the famous phrase 'If you don't laugh, you cry' a new lease of life.
Rambunctious Scallywag showcases Black's observational, quirky wit.
Black has a small audience of five at the time of review at the Junk Poets venue of Caravanserai, making her Fringe debut. On this occasion the audience seems to be a couple of older individuals who do not always seem to resonate with her journey, or the swearing during the set; and three young at heart individuals (including myself) who understand her plight as she invites us down a rabbit hole of being a local Brightonian from a humble upbringing, to being the president of the student uni, working for a charity, meeting Lorraine Kelly and more. She tells each story with such love, that even in the most negative experiences, you can tell she has not only come to terms with each one, but has grown from them. For instance, when she meets Lorraine Kelly during a time when she takes covid tests for a big conference, she paints a vivid picture of Kelly being the loveliest person despite all Black has to deal with. What we experience is a last minute panic as coffee is spilt and a small dog tries to get to it. Whilst speaking to Kelly, Black mops up the coffee with one hand and with the other tries to keep the dog away from the coffee! It is one of those moments in which you have to see the show to believe what Black has experienced in order to try and keep everything running like clockwork.
It is a shame that this particular audience is a small one on this occasion, as Black's humour is not only positively cheeky and insightful, but extremely well constructed and performed. Maybe a later audience would be better for this upcoming comic, as 5pm tends to be a strange time for the fringe as a whole in terms of audience attendance. It runs the risk of missing out on someone who has clearly put a lot of time and effort into creating something that is engaging and extremely human on many levels that even the stoniest of hearts can relate to.
Expect unusual dating stories - including 'chicken man' - drugs, odd work colleagues and more, as well as the occasional life lesson. This is not just a comedy show. This is a personal journey of acceptance and mindfulness.
