Review by Nione Meakin

The Umbrella Birds are a rare and wonderful breed, an all-female sketch group who artfully and hilariously reflect the ups, downs and non-events of modern womanhood in a way that's totally devoid of Cosmopolitan cliché.

In the intimacy of a shop's changing rooms (a set, this time, unlike their previous site-specific adventure in a toilet) the talented four lift the lid on a melting pot of neuroses, social awkwardness and revealing exchanges. All human life is here.

There's the horribly familiar matey mum who is determined to share everything with her mortified teenage daughter, right down to the finer details of her sex life - after all, says she, with conspiratorial grin, ‘We're all girls together, aren't we?’.

Two church-goers fret that the Second Coming is imminent, which really puts the pressure on the unmarried of the pair. Then there's the buoyant ex-office worker who is retraining as a burlesque dancer and parades her new work wear to the shop's bemused assistant with the wonderfully double-edged boast: "I feel really liberated...that's why I've bought a corset.’

The setting is a brilliant theatrical conceit, allowing the quartet to expose traditionally behind-the-scenes episodes in a way that feels deliciously voyeuristic and fresh. It's a clever framework for the consistently excellent sketches but the group doesn't allow it to limit the material. These are sketches that could easily stand alone.

All four women are versatile, accomplished actors who prove a worthy match for the quality of the writing - they might be mad, or bad, or stuck in a dress, but all of the characters they create are believable. And the refreshing lack of tired, female-centric cliché can't be understated. This isn't comedy designed for women, this is comedy for all. More please.

Review date: 13 Aug 2009
Reviewed by: Nione Meakin