Review by Steve Bennett

Review

Sometimes shows just don't go the way you envision them, a problem exacerbated by the nature of Free Fringe shows, where people can come and go as they please. Within the first 15 minutes of her set Juliet Myers is confronted by a group of girls sat at the front who are looking for their friend's show, but take ten minutes to realise Meyers is not actually said friend, a man desperate for a drink and a confused heckler who thinks Meyers' reference to the 'c-word' means 'condoms' and proceeds to wave a packet at her.

Rather than be put off by such disturbances, however, Meyers' almost revels in them, taking a perverse pleasure in the surrealness of the banter she's engaging in, and she has the talent to bring the rest of the crowd along for the ride.

Once the disturbances are gone and Meyers can get back to her material, the previous events seem to have a bizarre relevence, as the entire show is based around Meyers' surreal fantasy world inhabited by a made-up mother and father. The former she goes into great detail about, for the latter a photo of John Peel suffices.

There are some wonderfully bizzare ideas here, such as the concept of downloading ringtones into babies, the idea that in heaven everyone will ask each other 'What was your last thought?' and the existence of a sexual menu.

It's not all crazy surrealism, with Meyers' also having a decent line in more traditional gags, including a great if dark Nazi joke. There's a short section where she slips into some fairly hack 'Jewish comedian' material, but she moves swiftly on.

It's a truly lovely show, and one that has resonance, as many of us retreat into our own fantasy worlds from time to time, the difference being most of ours aren't as laugh-out-loud funny.

Dean Love

Review date: 1 Jan 2006
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett