There are many things that make for a successful comedian. For some it’s an original take on the world. For others, a way with words, a rhythm that simply triggers a smile. Some performers, though, engage you purely with their personality. Lolie Ware is one of those performers.
‘Too Cool to Care’ is the story of Ware’s life as a carer for a father with Alzheimer’s and a wheelchair-bound mother. But don’t be fooled by the title – as Lolie herself says at the outset, this show is about love.
Love for her parents, obviously, a love which is evident throughout the show. But love too for the others around her; the Pensioners Commune who helped her keep her parents’ day centre open, for the hotel staff who help her give her parents a special night, for the audience sat in front of her.
And within the fun, a little education. Because, it turns out, it’s hard to care. The burden these people carry, simply because they choose to pick up the gauntlet. Through the sleepless nights, the hospital visits, the constant fights to be heard. And, hardest of all, through being invisible to the people whose attention you need most.
Bittersweet material but then this show not exactly stand-up and it’s not what you’d call a play but it’s something more valuable than that – it’s a window into a world that very few see, created by a woman who can make that world not only interesting but compelling.
Too cool to care? Lolie cares alright. And it’s lovely.
