Sara Barron returns to the Fringe after a bumper year in 2018 where her show For Worse as nominated for Edinburgh Comedy Awards Best Newcommer. No pressure then. Barron is a born performer, which makes it even more surprising she only made the switch to stand-up in her mid-thirties, and doesn’t disappoint as a visual comic. She is naughty, rude and indiscrete and that combined with her charisma (her words – many times) make for a raucous night out, even if some her material feels a little over-done at times.
Barron is a born performer
Barron opens up by telling us that she has, often and unfairly, gained a reputation as a ‘bitchy, mean’ person. She prefers the terms ‘perceptive and honest.’ She lets us know that everyone in the world falls into two categories – hero or cunt – and no one thinks of themselves as a cunt but the majority of us are. The premise of her show, exploring the hero/cunt paradigm, is great fun but beyond this a lot of her material falls into fairly predictable and hackneyed stereotypes – about the British, vegans, pop-ups, hipsters, weddings and all that. It’s certainly easy-going comedy – a great choice for something that no one could take offence to and many might find really very funny – but not blow-the-roof-off hysterical laughter.
As a performer Barron is great though. She prowls around the stage, magnificently present and all her audience interaction, the off-the-cuff stuff, is really entertaining. Embarrassing for those involved, but very funny. And she will make you feel so much better about all those thoughts you have but know you shouldn’t – you’re not the only one. Her on-brand American self-confidence is highly watchable and you can see why she has amassed a dedicated fan-base so quickly. Us self-hating Brits do love to hate to love on people with more self-confidence in their camel-toe (reference) than we have in entire city populations.
