LadsLadsLads would ordinarily conjure a shiver down my spine – inducing images of a lager guzzling, chanting, high-fiving stag do. Thankfully Sara Pascoe’s West End run of her sell out Edinburgh show LadsLadsLads has the opposite affect. It boasts excesses of a different kind: Sara’s unfaltering, unfiltered, oversharing monologues!
This show starts with a painfully hilarious, moment by moment narration of Sara’s break up with her boyfriend of four years, followed by descriptions of how the comedian overshared her way into arguments throughout her relationships past and (until recently) present. Cue classic Pascoe jokes about stray pubes, incest and a mother in law’s underwear. Nothing is off the scale on the Sara Pascoe overshare-ometer.
Sara is unquestionably a naturally funny comedian on and off the stage, proving her quick wit on shows like Mock The Week and TaskMaster. She always seems, to me at least, like one of the more relatable comedians on the circuit. With a strong, endearing Essex accent and a unique brand of silly anecdotes. Anyone who has read her incredibly important book Animal will be all the more familiar with her astounding ability to tell a story balancing research and critical theory with silliness and authenticity.
LadsLadsLads brings to mind Animal (it echoes many of the books themes), as Sara continues to address mind-blowingly important issues such as gender roles, toxic masculinity, white privilege, racism, patriarchy and much more with the lightness of comedy. Sara’s take make the subjects so relatable, that the issues she tackles linger in your mind long after leaving the theatre!
Sara knows which jokes can give extra mileage and she plays that card well, teasing the audience with well practised facial and verbal intonations. Her conversational style is very engaging and invites plenty of tangents. However, I did find on a couple of occasions that Sara went so far down the tangential rabbit hole I lost track of the initial narrative.
That being said, Sara is captivating on stage. LadsLadsLads is socially and politically progressive, clever and insightful, wrapped as ever in a quirky delivery and equally quirky and fabulous outfit!
Comments