Edinburgh Fringe
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Edinburgh Fringe 〰️
Image: Gala Ricote
by Zoe Paskett
Maya Ricote wakes up from her cryogenic sleep wide-eyed and in a cloud of vape smoke. A nonagenarian in a 25-year-old body, she’s all fake eyelashes and exaggerated curves. She speaks only a little at the start, and softly, feeling her way back into the world as she gets used to her new figure.
Frozen in time by a talent agent, she’s been thawed for one perfect day to attend an audition, as per the contract she signed. It’s everything she’s ever wanted of course!
But this debut clown show is more than skin deep, as Maya mines her former life as a telenovela actress to investigate the impact of the pressures of remaining youthful, hyper-feminine and emotionally palatable. What results is a hilarious and heartfelt story that will delight everyone and resonate with many (no previous TV careers necessary).
This is a Performance with a capital P. Her ability to express feeling through movement, and her timing are flawless and cheeky. She brings the audience in through some great set pieces that allow her to show off her range, and uses visual gags and surprising props to maximum effect.
Ay Am has that perfect combination of physical clowning with a gripping narrative – even a gloriously chaotic action sequence – and the vulnerability that comes from really, truly letting go of expectations and constraints, opening your heart to the room and having them reciprocate. This is exactly what clowning should do, and sorry if it made me a bit emotional!
Maya moves from an identity defined by looks to something more untethered, but decided by her. When all she has known is how to be observed by other people, she asks what this has done to how she sees herself.
With all the glorious melodrama of a telenovela, she dances with the audience to a triumphant finish, ending the show a star, on her own terms.
Maya Ricote: Ay Am! is at Pleasance Courtyard, Cellar, 22:40 (not 18th). Tickets here
“Her conversational and lively storytelling style as she tells us about her life knocks up against perceptive envelope-pushing political material. The combination of the two is potent – she holds nothing back”
“Duo Chuck’n’Jeck’s Fringe debut 123movies.com is a whirlwind of sketches tied together under the umbrella of the most nonsensical and most fun awards ceremony you’ve ever watched”
“This is the sort of show that I long for at the Fringe: something queer and weird and extravagant that has an audience hooting and hollering and going out into the night feeling like they’ve just experienced something rare.”
“An absolute hoot. Hudson characterises this fading shine of light entertainment celebrity with aplomb, his frantic desperation to cling onto relevance butting up against the temptations and modernisations of a world that he is ill-equipped to deal with. “
“The social realm is a tricky beast, filled with grey areas and traps that can catch anyone out if they are unprepared. Luckily, Paulette has devised a code of etiquette for handling every social situation you might come up against.”
“This is one of those totally unique late night Fringe shows that will see you leave wondering, did that just happen? Did I and a whole bunker of people just spank each other silly on command? The answer is yes. Willingly, in fact.”
“Character comedian Han Whyte’s drag persona welcomes us to the launch of his new book and a relaunch of his previous works now adapted to be more feminist – at least in his eyes.”
“A show that unpacks this odd existence with equal measures of absurdity and tenderness, emphatically queer, both extremely funny and bittersweet.”
“God’s Favourite is an intense and inspired hour, bound by a combination of zippy writing and a faith in the show’s journey, which the audience shares in wholeheartedly.”
“This debut clown show is more than skin deep, as Maya mines her former life as a telenovela actress to investigate the pressures of remaining youthful, hyper-feminine and emotionally palatable. “
“Sexy baby, harangued ex-wife to a deadbeat genius, male growth plot device… How far have we come really?”
“Her characters provide a showcase for her wide-ranging comedic abilities and allow plenty of space to play”
“The immediate standing ovation that met Mothman’s curtain call came as no surprise. This is the type of show you’ll leave feeling like you need to see it again.”
“She’s dynamic and natural on stage, a simultaneously high-powered and relaxed stand-up.”
