At Chortle's Fast Fringe

July 2011

More Wendy Wason videos

Wendy Wason's introduction to stand-up came with her first job, at The Gilded Balloon in Edinburgh .

But her background is in acting job, with roles in Taggart, Fun At The Funeral Parlour and Coupling. She even played an obsessive Bill Hicks fan who becomes a stand-up in the 2000 British film, Resurrecting Bill.

She debuted at the Edinburgh Festival in 2001 in Trevor Lock's play, What You Really Want, alongside Phil Nichol, Sarah Kendall - and had to strip off while four months pregnant.

By the time she was pregnant with her second child she was filming The Libertine with Johnnys Depp, Malkovich and Vegas.

When her son was 8 weeks old, she started stand-up. In 2005 she was a finalist in the Funny Women contest; and the following year she was a finalist in the first Scottish Comedian Of The Year competition.

Wendy Wason: Flashbacks
Live Review

There is a risk allowing reviewers in to a preview show, and one Wendy Wason maybe shouldn't have taken. Infinitely likeable and endlessly enthusiastic, she is a joy to watch – but there is a downside his charm when her material doesn't quite hit the spot. She can come across like the nicest girl in the pub telling you entertaining but ultimately pointless anecdotes until she runs out of steam.

There is a loose narrative, with the heavily pregnant Wason explaining that the imminent birth of her third child has made her look back over her life and the events that shaped her through childhood. It is a nice concept but it does feel a little contrived as she jumps from tales of her South African infancy to stories about shopping in Sainsbury’s with the same emphasis and importance applied to both.

Wason blames her 'pregnant brain' and the fact this is a preview show for her scattiness in keeping to script (and to time) and for losing her place and her flow on more than one occasion. You get the impression that this rattlebrained absent-mindedness is more than just transient, but despite its impact on her timing it adds to her charm and the audience go with it.

There are some lovely sections dotted in the muddle, with a rundown of the No 1's at the time of Wason’s important birthdays demonstrating how the quality of music through the decades matched how her parents’ expectations of her also plunged. She gets the audience involved in this section and it is clear that the crowd have warmed to her as they happily play along with her asides and questions. It's a testament to her skill as a performer that she can accuse a gentleman in the front row of dressing like a paedophile in the 70s and he responds like it's a compliment. Her audience interaction is assured, but again can feel more like a chat with a good mate than something more suited to a comedy show.

Fun and confident delivery, but her material isn't that strong.

Jo Phelan, October 2007

Brilliant in Farnham last night - some good and edgy stuff concealed by a breezy delivery

Gordon, October 2006

Saw her at the Afrobar in reading last night, and she has a great stage persona with some good material to back it up. Good one.

Dave, April 2006

Sexy, sassy and made me laugh. Will look out for her in the future

GM, February 2006

What does it matter if she was once an actress - she's funny. She was brilliant at The Stand in Edinburgh the other night.

Maggie from Edinburgh, January 2006