The Late Show was a comedy night that lit up The Warren with much needed silliness, laughter and joy with the return of live shows. This was evident with all acts involved. Despite the delay in starting, it was clear that all who attended were looking forward to a good late night of entertainment.
...a creative and experimental night that lifts everyone's spirits
The three acts involved were very different in their styles of delivery and in their handling of heckling, but all of them clearly relished the opportunity to be on stage again. Especially the first act, Maisy Adams. She was full of energy, positive and honest in her approach to her material as she shared her journey through both lockdowns, plus showed her gratitude to everyone for even showing up. The highlight was when she mentioned that she missed performing and got the shout out of 'We missed you!'. She responded, 'That is the lovliest heckle I have ever received. Thank you!'
Comedy trio Privates followed after Maisy's set with what can only be described as a very obscure combination of pantomime, surrealism and 'Allo 'Allo. We had a French chef, who was a wannabe inventor with wine pouring from his hat and with a rather unusual sanitising unit. He was a good, strong performer but seemed to be rather overwhelmed when the heckling started up again. He carried on well and introduced Daisy the Cow to the stage. This could have been a really strong section comedy-wise, however there were too many repeatitive elements to it with one joke that involved the cow weeing on his face, plus it seemed like it was going into territory that was a little too physically surreal at times.
Our headliner act Zoe Lyons really brought the energy back up with her very ascerbic wit and bold directness, which seemed to be new for her, especially since becoming single during lockdown. She was not afraid to go to places that a lot of us were familiar with in terms of mental health, failing relationships, enjoying faking reasons not to go to weddings and hair appointments. As her set progressed, it was clear that she was becoming more playful in her wording and relished every minute she was on. Even when she had techinical difficulties with her microphone, she handled it like the professional she was and made it part of the act.
The Late Show was a night to remember with it heralding the official opening of the Fringe. A creative and experimental night that lifts everyone's spirits and hits the reset button from these uncertain times in a safe and happy environment.
