Edinburgh Fringe theatre review

Charlie Russell takes to the stage with the bouncy, winsome energy of the host of a 1980s light entertainment variety special. Or – worse – an improviser (which she is).

That vibe’s amplified when she launches into a perky rendition of I’m Just A Girl Who Can’t Say No, the first of her many all-too-obvious attempts to get us to like her.

Indeed, it is the very premise of the hour, as the title indicates. Russell plans to offer us a snippet of entertainment from every genre on offer at the Fringe, so ensure she’s provided something for everyone. We are even all given stickers to display once we have been entertained, so she knows when the job’s done.

She chats to the audience to get a feel of what sort of shows they like, from dancing to slapstick, children’s storytelling to sketch comedy. Each answer steers her towards a prepared bit or influences the way it turns out.

Thing is all of these segments are rather bland. That sketch comedy skit, for example, is a spoof ‘Channel Paw’ news report for cats containing such puns as ‘Liz Puss’. The bar is low.

Each segment is technically well put-together – as you might expect from the production company Mischief, that’s also behind The Play That Goes Wrong and much else besides. – and competently performed. But that only makes this one-woman variety performance seem like a cynical showcase for all Russell’s stage-school acquired skills.

Still on go the stickers. People do like this.

But then, when it comes to the stand-up section, the whole show pivots into something else entirely that offers a more genuine insight into what makes Russell want to be such a people-pleaser. She handles this gear change brilliantly, and holds us rapt with the dramatic turn proceedings have taken.

It’s the definition of a show of two halves, and needs the mainstream first part to make the more intense second act work. I was nonplussed by the vacuous pre-twist entertainment, though won over by what followed. And couldn’t help but wonder if those who lapped up the more showbizzy first half would be left cold by the second.

That’s the thing, see. You can’t please everyone.

• Charlie Russell Aims to Please is on at Pleasance Courtyard at 3.15pm

Review date: 8 Aug 2022
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Reviewed at: Pleasance Courtyard