20 years since her first Fringe, Sara Pascoe bounced onto the stage a buzz in the room supported by something unusual at Fringe — a clear expectation of what the audience was about to see.
She opened the show reminiscing on her 2006 debut in Shakespeare by the Sea. Reflecting on her many Fringe experiences both good and bad since then, Pascoe admits the strange allure of the festival that she can’t understand, but keeps her coming back.
Mixing old and new material, she offered unique perspectives on aging as a woman in the modern world, working in abstract thoughts around science and the evolution of public discourse. She discussed her grievances around the simple aspects of family life that the audience marked as highly relatable.
Due to the ad hoc nature of the performance, it was less polished than Pascoe’s usual work. However, while there may have been a lack of side-splitting laughter, her clever musing and apt reflections on modern life delighted the audience.
Pascoe rounded out the set nicely with a rap ode to her first Fringe role as Hamlet, entitled Fresh Prince of Denmark. The show closed on a high — even if few of the notes were in tune.
Critics argue that famous comedians at the Fringe crowd out emerging talent. Judging by McEwan Hall being at capacity in the early evening of the first night of Fringe, it was clear that audiences were drawn in numbers only a name like Pascoe could achieve. I have no doubt, with her compliments of the festival and its role in establishing her career, that many will have left the show excited and wanting to see some of the many comedians on offer this August.
While this show was for one night only, this is not Pascoe’s only appearance at the Fringe this year. You can still catch her perform her Work in Progress at Shedinburgh on 17 August or her feature in Crowd Work with Frank Skinner & Friends Assembly Studio One 17– 24 August. https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/crowd-work-with-frank-skinner https://bookings.shedinburgh.com/event/9854:63/
Photo by Jörg Angeli on Unsplash
