At Chortle Fast Fringe 2010

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Bridget Christie: A Ant
Live Review

You’ve heard of anti-comedians; now welcome the first anty-comedian.

Anyone seriously into their comedy simply has to witness the first few minutes of Bridget Christie’s show, as she takes to the stage as a stand-up who just happens to be an insect. Infuriated by the hackneyed Ant Music walk-on track her technician plays, she launches into a furious diatribe about how she’s pigeonholed by her phylum, not by her comedy.

Even more funny is to watch her die on her thorax. The majority of the audience gaze on baffled as the subtext and fantastic industry in-jokes go sailing over their heads, wondering what madness they have just spent £8 on.

Christie has spent most of her career on such artistic indulg-ants (sorry but the pained puns she insists on are infectious); raiding the dressing-up box and doing odd things for her own amusement, no matter what the audience reaction. But now a mother, needing to feed and clothe a toddler, she’s reluctantly come to the conclusion she need to be more accessible if she’s ever to earn a crust at comedy. Thus she sheds her antennae to launch into more conventional stand-up banter.

Even so, she seems in constant battle with the crowd, who don’t always buy into her stories about living in North London’s most liberal enclave of Stoke Newington with a grumpy husband and a cat she wanted to call Alan Palmer. Political stuff, seems an especially tough sell, as she forces ahead with Nick Clegg for selling out to the Tories and gets angry with author Toby Young about the free school he wants to set up in West London. She can assume too much knowledge of her audience, leaving them struggling to catch up, while her commentary on how she perceives the gig to be going maintains the a division between performer and observer, however good-naturedly she picks at it.

But there are some quirkily funny ideas and ambitious concepts here, especially the elegant mega-callbacks concerning Andrew Lloyd Webber and his Wikipedia page. And for all the struggle, the audience do warm to her. When she seems ready to abandon her plan to revive the ant for the epilogue, fearing the gig has been a disaster, spontaneous and heartfelt calls of ‘ant, ant, ant!’ go up. We like her, even if we sometimes find her challenging

The Fringe is a better place for having Christie on it, her bold show bringing a genuine touch of the alternative to an increasingly safe landscape. Even if the ride is still too bumpy for an outright recommendation, this show is the surest sign yet that she isn’t destined to remain condemned as ‘interesting’ rather than ‘funny’, as her finest moments hit highs of genuine brilliance.

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'My Daily Mail Hell' was my first exposure to Bridget Christie and I thoroughly enjoyed the show. The gig took place in a small studio at the Soho Theatre to an audience of two or three dozen people, so it was all a bit awkward at first but she won everybody over. The material was great and the set was cohesive - running at an hour I could happily have sat through another. nMy criticism would be that at times it felt a bit like a Russell Brand impersonation. That said, maybe Russell nicked it from Bridget - as I say, I hadn't seen her before.

Charles Thomson, May 2010

Saw her at Stewart Lee's Night of Big Bangers at the BAC. She absolutely died, putting in probably the worst performance I've seen from a comedian. Terrible material, with personal anecdotes with no punchlines, and no actually interesting events, along with a really irritating cutesy delivery, which she self-consciously referred to when it became obvious she was dying. I felt, honestly, like she had no understanding of what a comedian is supposed to do. How she managed to win any award, never mind funniest women at the fringe when Josie Long and Sarah Millican were both there, is beyond me.

Ally Glen, November 2008

Saw Bridget on Robin Ince's Book Club at Latitude. She only had a 10 minute slot, which was a bit hurried and disorganised, but it was very amusing nonetheless. Appreciated her 'list' song about long-haired dogs (but there is room for improvement...may I humbly suggest the incorporation of the 'Bouvier Des Flandres' or 'Kooikerhondje' breeds?).

Jo Phelan, July 2008

Saw her at Up the Creek tonight. She came on as "Dan Brown, the writer of the DaVinci Code." She tanked. She was supposed to come on again as Charles II, but decided not to. Based on the three or four minutes she did, I suspect character comedy may not be her thing. I'm sure she has talent, unfortunately it didn't shine through tonight.

Patrick, October 2006

Excellent. Playful, whimsical and you get the sense that she's invested a lot of herself in the act. Highly recommended.

Darrell, November 2005

Naturally funny, original and gorgeous. What more do the people want?

Annie, August 2005

Brilliant. A very talented young woman. Reminds me of a young Jim Bowen.. not really.

Anna, February 2005

Did the first slot at the Leicster Mercury Comedian Of The Year Award. Always a bad slot being first on, but did very very well, and set the benchmark for everyone else to follow,. Go and see her.

Q Airdre, February 2005

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