Subject To Availability

Short routine from her Edinburgh show

Original Review:

The litany of common comedy topics she covers includes posh sat nav voices, Facebook, emoticons and the disclaimers on adverts. There are comics with much better jokes about all these topics, but her affable nature and accessible, straightforward approach means everything works smoothly.

She took her title from the way she complained after a unacceptable meal in a Little Chef, where her expectations are already low. She decided these were the best choice of words to politely register her disappointment. which pretty much echoes what she’s aiming to do with this hour.

So while this ‘chump blundering through life’ will get mildly vexed by the empty boasts of advertisers, the patronising voice telling her she has no phone messages or her sanctimonious friend addicted to self-help books, she won’t go ranting and raving about it, she’ll just whinge in grumpy, impotent acceptance. It’s the British way.

She comes across as a likeable everywoman, chatty but not waffly as she progresses briskly and slickly from one universal subject to the next, nicely illustrating the material with little snippets closer to character or sketch performance. While most of the gags are pedestrian, her spirited routine about her recent pregnancy is the jewel that bumps up her average. The theatrical description of the birth, especially, is an impressive display of acting ability which make the piece both realistic and funny.

More like this, and less of the generic observational comedy is the way forward, but it’s a solid, reliable debut.

Reviewed by: Steve Bennett