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The Breakup Monologues

 
Sascha Cooper Review by Sascha Cooper 5 Published: 24 May 2022 Brighton Spiegeltent Show Dates: 22 May 2022-22 May 2022

The Breakup Monologues is an award-winning podcast from comedian Rosie Wilby, which has been brought to the Brighton Fringe for the first time ever. Recorded in front of a live audience in the beautiful Spiegeltent, the show is a rich, colourful one that fuses comedy, mindfulness and in-depth conversations with three guests sharing their own experiences with heartbreak. This inspiring fusion format deeply connected with and entertained everyone in the audience under the watchful eye of Wilby. She, from the word go, was a charming host who set out to educate and entertain through her honest and witty observations on love and heartbreak, as well as ignite magic from her three guests of choice on the panel that evening.

Funny, honest and real

The panel consisted of Zoe Lyons, Hal Cruttenden and broadcaster Bibi Lynch, who between them, despite being at different stages of their own respective journeys, shared some insight, wisdom and comedic quips along the way and were able to connect with each other in ways that were unexpected and delightful.

Lyons began the discussion with her recent breakup and tentative reconciliation with her wife. Her style of comedy is usually sharp and to the point, but here she was brave enough to say that she had a part in the initial breakup during lockdown after looking at herself and her well-being more carefully than usual. She seemed very grounded as she candidly spoke about being in therapy and the hardships she went through during the separation - including staying in a friend's garage in the New Forest. Seeing her transformation talked about in this manner showed a different side to Lyons that made us appreciate her all the more if we were familiar with her work, but also introduced newcomers to her with ease.

Cruttenden was next as he shared his recent raw experience of going through a divorce with his wife after 21 years of marriage. At the time of reviewing, he was in his seventh month of splitting up, living in the same house as her and both parties had split mutually. His style of comedy seemed more vulnerable than the others as he quipped about the joys of living under the same roof as an ex and discovering new things about himself as a person. He openly shared that he was building a new relationship with his daughter and looking forward to finding himself again, comparing his present self to the desperation of being accepted by women in his youth, showing his growth and sensitivity within his self-deprecation.

Lynch showed a different perspective to breaking up with someone the day after Princess Diana died and not having a relationship since then. Her wit was more acerbic as she discussed having high standards that were unobtainable by potential partners and dating people called 'Frank' as part of a podcast series she did. Likewise, she was honest about wanting to find love as she got older, but at the same time shared the frustration many people go through of not being able to find love at any stage of their lives. But the big highlight was when she and Cruttenden began the shortest relationship through banter ever! To find out what happened, check out the podcast.

The Breakup Monologues needs to be brought back to Brighton Fringe next year, as well as other times throughout the year. Funny, honest and real.

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The Blurb:

Award-winning comedian Rosie Wilby shares funny, bizarre and poignant tales of heartbreak and recovery with special guests - comedians Zoe Lyons and Hal Cruttenden plus broadcaster Bibi Lynch - in a live recording of her acclaimed podcast (a British Podcast Award nominee in 2020 and recommended by The Observer, Chortle, Metro and Psychologies). Rosie has been obsessively researching the psychology of love for a decade and has even been dubbed the ‘the queen of breakups’ by BBC Radio 4. The Breakup Monologues is now also available as a book combining humour, heartache and science to investigate how on earth to actually stay in a relationship in the modern age of ghosting, breadcrumbing and conscious uncoupling. It has been described by Red Magazine as a ‘gem of a book’ and by Viv Groskop as ‘funny, sweet, entertaining, insightful and life-affirming.