Review by Lucy Holz
Known Australia-wide for her collaborative work with the smash-hit comedy group Aunty Donna, Michelle Brasier is already a sketch comedy star. But her show at Edinburgh this year isn’t sketch, it’s a standup-musical hybrid and it demonstrates that Brasier truly is a master across multiple comedy genres.
The audience is welcomed into the theatre by Brasier herself, who immediately begins asking us to introduce ourselves in the hope of finding two strangers with the same name. This creates a lively atmosphere, setting the overall tone of the show and forecasting Brasier’s cheeky but kind comedy style.
Talking a mile-a-minute, Brasier takes to the stage in her platform crocs and gauzy gown, immediately setting up the shows conceit. What will her legacy be? And what would her legacy have been if she became an osteopath? A lawyer? A Love Island contestant?
Joined onstage by her partner/backing singer Tim, Brasier takes us through all the versions of herself she could have been, if only she’d aced that one Cats audition. The show is perfectly structured, taking us on a hellish plane journey with jumps back in time to her years in drama school and growing up in the teen pregnancy capital of Australia.
Her comedy is sharp and her crowd work seamless. The standup routine is punctuated by pithy songs, breaking up her storytelling and enhancing some of her funniest routines. Her millennial lament is a highlight of the show, perfectly encapsulating how every generation feels as they are aged out of relevance and forced to part with their high-waisted jeans.
Brasier’s final talking points are around the conundrum of being a childless woman in her 30’s and whether she wants that to change. The entirety of the show has been flippant up until that point, so her heartfelt monologue dissecting the ‘to have or not to have’ question hits the audience where it hurts. The brevity of this serious section makes it all the more powerful, unexpectedly leaving me with tears in my eyes.
It’s the perfect show, Brasier proving she is not just a skilled vocalist (your loss Cats), but also a master storyteller. If her sold out run in last year’s festival is anything to go by, you need to grab a ticket and you need to do it quick.
Image Supplied
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