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Now a musical comedian Vikki Stone has had a varied performing career.

Before turning to comedy she was a backing singing on an Elton John arena tour, performed two shows in Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber's private theatre at his Sydmonton Court home, had a 'non sex' role in a gay porn film, starred in an acapella musical about public transport in a tunnel under London Bridge station and played Frida in no less than four Abba tribute bands.

Since embarking on her stand-up career, she made the finals of the Hackney Empire New Act Of The Year competition in 2008 and won The Soho Theatre One Night Stand Up Award.

Vikki Stone: Fringe 2012
Live Review
Underbelly Bristo Square

There’s a song toward the end of Vikki Stone’s show where she hits back at detractors who have taken offence at her often crude material. It’s not in the league of Tim Minchin’s Phil Daoust number, but it is a defiant assertion of her right to talk dirty, and the reasons why she does so.

She makes valid points in her defence, though the assumption that those who think any references to sex are simply easily-offended prudes is conveniently reductive, ignoring any degradations that such material can be anywhere on the spectrum from the cheap to the artful.

Yet such a smart self-referential track is evidence that Stone is maturing in her writing – even if she’s still got some way to go. Despite her protests, she does seem to have cleaned up her act this year to some extent. Even her title, Hot Mess doesn’t refer to a recent ejaculate – shame on you if you thought as much – but to Stone herself: attractive but a social  nightmare, as her Facebook albums will attest.

Yet while she’s ditched sex as the mainstay of this hour, she’s replaced it with another rather unexciting subject: celebrity culture. Her first song, belted out with spirit on the piano she plays so well, is about Sinitta; her next is about Deal or No Deal; the next is a reprisal of last year’s hit about Phillip Schofield. And she is obsessed with Hilary Devey from Dragon’s Den.

They are brassy and silly, and Stone happily humiliates herself in the name of entertainment, smearing her lipstick as she dons a Noel Edmonds beard to play her own take on Deal with the audience, even if the scene seems like so much filler.

Like so much of the show, it’s lightweight – but done with spirit. Her knowing lyrics ‘Here is the message, everyone loves a message’ at the end acknowledge that this is not a lofty hour,  and instead celebrates stupidness that’s gone before – and is about to erupt again in a gloriously tacky showstopper.

True to titular form, the show is something of a mess, built on the inconsequential. Yet she shows sparks of being more interesting if the mood takes her, while being utterly, shamelessly committed to showing off, however ridiculous it is.

I saw a preview of Vikki’s 2011 Edinburgh Festival show last night which went down a storm. The songs are in the style of the great Tim Minchin, with Vikki’s potty mouth and considerable vocal talents making her a certain hit in Edinburgh this year. Her ABBA ‘tribute’ was hilarious. Not one for the easily offended but a must see for anyone else.

Colin, July 2011

Vikki has appeared twice in swift succession at the Musket Club, Cpolchester on Female Orientated Comedy Nights. Vikki came on and did her sing song comedy routine that caused the predominantly female audience to laugh loudly and carry on laughing .....loudly. Vikki has a huge stage presence and her routines are excellent. She comes over well and her grown up humour caused mirth amongst the women present.

Jon White, November 2010

A naughty renegade clone of Victoria Wood. Enjoyed her surrogate lyrics to Abba/Lily Allen songs and the Presbyterian style reaction to them, by a section of the Inverness audience around me. A sharp intake of breath reaction! Vikki has a fine voice indeed! But she's entered the comedy circuit. I wonder how far this formula will last? I look forward to seeing how her style evolves.

Douglas Thomson, February 2010