---

Underbelly, George Square – The Wee Coo
Aug 22-27 (20:00)

Material:   Delivery:   Laughs:

---

Freya Slipper is one slick & classy lassie. With a black sweater, blue jeans & scruffy trainers, at first she seems not quite the person to deliver the argument of her tale, that of a multi-persona romp through the backstory of fifty-seven year old Linda Pritchard’s journey into space. Then, as soon as she plunges into her vast array of voices & faces, waving her hands like an enchantress, she proceeds to succeed in her task with incredible aptitude.

We never actually meet Linda, the concept being that the tale of her imminent trip through the stratosphere is told through the people she left behind; such as her horny co-worker at the village library & her graspingly annoying family members. We are given, then, sketch comedy with a very thick thread, & I’m happy to say that as set pieces, the sketches run rampant with laughs & daftness.

The audience is heavily involved, fleshing out the Freyan dreamworld, a gamble which upon this occasion rarely stemmed the flow. Unfortunately a couple of non-British impersonations bounced a little awkwardly for 2018, but I guess this lends to an overall picture of cosmopolitan inclusion which was Linda’s world on Earth. To weave such a complex tale through the medium of sketch is high-brow stuff, but Freya pulls it off without flaw & makes damn sure we’re having a good time as she does so. With a warm, human message at the conclusion of the tale, this is an intriguing & ultimately happiness-inducing hour.

Damo