Melbourne International Comedy Festival review by Steve Bennett

In Stella – an 11-year-old quadruple-threat singer, dancer, presenter and actor, not to mention Grade A spoilt brat – Isabel Angus has created a timely comedy character.

Her tale is told in Edge!, an astute commentary on the commoditisation of youth and the sexualisation of teen and pre-teen starlets. That might not immediately sound like the stuff of great comedy, but its witty script and well-judged performances make for a show that’s as entertaining as it is adventurous.

Stella’s story is that she shot to fame as an eight-year-old with the cutesy YouTube hit Mashmallows and Clouds. Spotting an opportunity to cash in on that viral exposure, her mother and manager, or ‘mumager’, is hawking her around as a marketable package ‘much better than Bindi Irwin’. Mum can’t be here for tonight’s showcase – she’s in LA networking – but is controlling Stella’s every move via Bluetooth earpiece.

Angus deftly treads a neat line in her performance, as some scenes require her to be deliberately bad – such as the one exhibiting her dramatic talents as she acts out a tween’s modern-day princess fantasy involving Rihanna, Katy Perry and Kim Kardashian – while others demand her to master bullying crowd work or gutsy, if clumsy, choreography. The pitch is perfect in capturing the twisted ambitions of a media-sodden girl with a fame-hungry parent, going through the motions of entertainment with a painted-on smile and phony joy barely disguising her terror that she might mess up, ruining her chances at achieving the dreams she’s told she has.

She’s aided in her efforts by her downtrodden techie, morosely played by Rachel Davis, the victim of Stella’s increasingly divaish demands as she takes uncertain steps down the path of becoming a Miley-style sex object.

As feminism increasingly nudges into the comedy mainstream, Edge! is a valuable addition to the movement, with its distinctive, near-theatrical atmosphere, well-constructed central character and valid points about lost youth and the folly of equating fulfilling sexual fantasies with ‘empowerment’. It’s a classy piece of work.

Review date: 5 Apr 2014
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett