Edinburgh Fringe
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Edinburgh Fringe 〰️
Image: Rebecca Need-Menear
by Zoe Paskett
Sam Nicoresti arrives on stage and puts on the jacket that completes her skirt suit.
Sam is searching for the perfect version of this outfit, ideally ‘woven from honeyed threads’, having seen a beautiful woman wearing one at Trans Pride. It is, as she says, the pinnacle of gendered performance. The search takes us all on a journey into womanhood, love, healing and getting pegged by the NHS. Baby Doomer covers so much ground, and Sam is lightning fast and bouncing, prancing around the stage to keep up with the flow of ideas pouring out of her. She’s like a cauldron, brimming, bubbling over.
Sam feels as though she’s struggling with how to be a woman, learning at home on her own but not quite nailing it when she comes into contact with other women. She’s thinking about her future and the idea of having a family, dealing with the transphobia of ignorant and cruel people in the changing rooms of high street stores that slap rainbows on their logo during Pride Month, finally being on hormones at a time when it’s safer for her to go back in the closet a bit.
It’s impossible to talk about everything that’s good in this show (because that would involve me reciting the whole thing back to you). There are so many moments that had me doubled over with laughter: finding an unlikely trans hero in Smeagol, which she acts out with unbridled relish, and unpacking the restrictive role that gendered language plays in family relationships to hilarious effect.
I glanced around at the audience a few times and, look, I know we’re at the world’s biggest arts festival blah blah blah but there were people from late teens to seventies laughing with the same gusto, because it’s impossible not to. While this story has its villains, ignorant and callous, there is also the reminder that the TK Maxx changing rooms and its ghoulish guardians aren’t the entire world – as Sam says, ‘the retail zone is not an expansion of the compassionate space’. There is her green-haired lover, the community of peers at Trans Pride, even a gym attendant who shows how easy it is to just be a normal human person. And there’s this audience, and all of the many other audience-members I’ve spoken to since seeing it who are calling this their favourite show and sending others along to experience it.
Like the skirt suit she’s in search of, Baby Doomer is woven from honeyed threads. She wears both wonderfully. Can you plausibly call someone one of the greats this early in their career? I don’t know, but I’ll certainly try! It feels like writing about Sam performing comedy across the years is just trying to find increasingly effusive ways to say that she’s one of the most exciting comedians it’s possible to see. After ‘Wokeflake’ (which you should watch as it’s been filmed), it’s wonderful to see someone this talented getting their flowers.
There’s a line in the show where Sam says all she wants is one nice summer, where everything goes her way and everybody agrees that she’s beautiful – is that too much to ask? I think not. I think this could be that summer.
Sam Nicoresti: Baby Doomer is at Pleasance Courtyard (Bunker 2) at 17:40. Tickets here
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“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.”
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“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.”
Getting to see Cooking With Kathryn is the perfect example of a welcome Fringe surprise – someone new to me and the Fringe, who has created something that fully reflects its anarchic, messy spirit. An absolute riot.
Gross in some places, soft in others, raucously fun all the way through. It’s a clown show that fully celebrates the joy of playing around. At every opportunity, Su takes the wilder option and runs with it.
Like the skirt suit she’s in search of, Baby Doomer is woven from honeyed threads. She wears both wonderfully. Can you plausibly call someone one of the greats this early in their career?
Marjolein’s perspective is a gift and Lein is another hypnotic, lyrical piece of work, and as funny as ever. Even if we haven’t all watched nuns trampolining in Amsterdam, being lost is a universal feeling.
I love all of it. Ayoade Bamgboye has the freshness of a new comedian performing without rules or restrictions. You truly have no idea what she might do next, and she makes it appear like she doesn’t either. It’s thrilling.
There are few people more naturally suited to the job at hand. Molly McGuinness’s debut Slob flows out of her with seemingly effortless dexterity.
I’ve been hearing rumblings of Ayo’s talent for a while and it’s immediately obvious why, both to me and this sold out crowd. His ease on stage, his delightful, sunny disposition and winning earnestness all combine to endear you to him straight away.
