Cleverly intimated by its title, Katie Massie’s Fringe debut standup hour Missionary blends two things: religion and sex. Speaking from her own experiences, the show offers a stream-of-
consciousness of unfiltered reflections on what it is to be a Christian-raised woman in the twenty-first century. It is comedy that works because it offers relatability, feeling more like a video call with a friend than a performance.
As the show opened with Peach PRC’s “God Is A Freak”, I quickly realised I was the right audience for this show. Katie began by offering personal anecdotes about her background growing up as the daughter of an episcopalian pastor, quipping that it was “the Coke Zero of Catholicism”, and wryly questioning whether the snake in the Book of Genesis may have a more contemporary metaphorical signification. It was funny and earnest, and not least deeply relatable to anyone with a background in twenty-first-century organised religion. As a US comedian, she also did well to construct jokes that traversed the cultural gap and appeal to British audience members, all the while staying true to her experiences as an American Christian.
If Katie’s musings on religion were frank, her contemplations on sex were even more so, as she opened up about her first time(s), Nora Ephron-loving ex-boyfriends, and pelvic floor therapy for vaginismus. The intended audience is clearly a female one; who else would understand as she recounts the struggles of shaving the back of the knee, or the knowing glance when you see another woman reading A Court of Thorns and Roses? Her playful anecdotes and the more sincere reflections on womanhood and the patriarchy were carefully dispersed throughout, which kept the piece tonally balanced. Navigating religion and sex as a twenty-something year old woman in 2024 is messy, painful, and fun – sometimes all three at the same time – and Katie Massie’s Missionary captures this. Her comedy has truth at its heart, and this will take her far.
Image provided to The Student as Press Material