Liz Kingsman

Please get me in a “ corset and put me on a horse for goodness sake! ”

Expectations are sky high for Liz Kingsman whose meta One-Woman Show has already wowed critics in London. Marissa Burgess discovered that all the comedian really craves is throwing herself into a period drama

It’s usually the case that when a comedy show emerges with a buzz around it, that reputation is initially garnered at the Fringe. But due to covid, Liz Kingsman debuted her One-Woman Show earlier this year at London’s Soho Theatre. To say it was wellreceived would be a massive understatement: it picked up a plethora of five-star reviews and Kingsman recently won a South Bank Award for breakthrough talent.

Was there a point where she realised she had created something a bit special? ‘I was walking around a park something a bit special? ‘I was walking around a park in the middle of nowhere a couple of weeks after the in the middle of nowhere a couple of weeks after the Soho run and I thought, “oh I get it!” I had a moment Soho run and I thought, “oh I get it!” I had a moment of clarity and texted the producers, “I think it went of clarity and texted the producers, “I think it went well, guys”,’ Kingsman laughs.

Like many performers, she is quick to doubt her Like many performers, she is quick to doubt her talent. ‘If you feel happy, this industry will find a way talent. ‘If you feel happy, this industry will find a way to make you feel doubtful. I’m really proud of the to make you feel doubtful. I’m really proud of the show and of everyone who has worked on it. It would show and of everyone who has worked on it. It would be disingenuous if I was to be all faux humble about it, be disingenuous if I was to be all faux humble about it, but we’ve already had a really amazing time at Soho. but we’ve already had a really amazing time at Soho. It was far more than I could have hoped for.’ It was far more than I could have hoped for.’

One-Woman Show has been described as a parody has been described as a parody of the likes of Fleabag, and Kingsman certainly , and Kingsman certainly skewers the young, white, middle-class experience skewers the young, white, middle-class experience and its potential for egotism. Her take on the genre and its potential for egotism. Her take on the genre is a distinctly meta one, where a performer gets stuck is a distinctly meta one, where a performer gets stuck inside her own one-woman show, giving Kingsman inside her own one-woman show, giving Kingsman the opportunity to use her sharply honed wit to send the opportunity to use her sharply honed wit to send up each aspect of it. ‘I watched the film up each aspect of it. ‘I watched the film Jumanji a Jumanji a lot and wanted to do this whole thing about someone lot and wanted to do this whole thing about someone being trapped inside their own one-woman show. Like being trapped inside their own one-woman show. Like Robin Williams (who becomes trapped in a board Robin Williams (who becomes trapped in a board game in the film), this woman had been trapped inside game in the film), this woman had been trapped inside her own piece of work for 50 years or something.’ her own piece of work for 50 years or something.’

Where do you even start with writing a work that is Where do you even start with writing a work that is so layered? Kingsman has form for taking her time, so layered? Kingsman has form for taking her time, with her acclaimed sketch troupe Massive Dad taking with her acclaimed sketch troupe Massive Dad taking and figure out what that actually is.’

Kingsman studied English and History at uni but always had a hankering to act. Too intimidated to audition for serious drama productions, instead she segued into comedy. ‘What I could do was audition for this comedy group as that didn’t feel as scary to me as going to audition for Marat/Sade. Which was genuinely the play that they put on in our first term at uni. But it wasn’t accidental; I’ve always loved comedy, watched it and wanted to do it.’

a while to come to fruition. This has been no different. ‘Its original iteration was much more complex,’ Kingsman adds. ‘It starts with all these different conflicting ideas and all this scope and ambition: “I’m gonna do all this stuff with multimedia”! Everything always starts enormous and then you have a moment during the writing when you throw out 95%. Then I realised I was going to have to write the thing I was trying to comment on, too (the play within the play), and figure out what that actually is.’

Kingsman studied English and History at uni but always had a hankering to act. Too intimidated to audition for serious drama productions, instead she segued into comedy. ‘What I could do was audition for this comedy group as that didn’t feel as scary to me as going to audition for Marat/Sade. Which was genuinely the play that they put on in our first term at uni. But it wasn’t accidental; I’ve always loved comedy, watched it and wanted to do it.’

Eventually she formed Massive Dad with Tessa Coates and Stevie Martin. with Tessa Coates and Stevie Martin. Since then, she’s had a string of roles Since then, she’s had a string of roles including a starring performance in including a starring performance in the French sitcom the French sitcom Parlement, Parlement, but there’s one type of part she’s but there’s one type of part she’s itching to take on. ‘I really want itching to take on. ‘I really want to wear period costume: please get to wear period costume: please get me in a corset and put me on a me in a corset and put me on a horse for goodness sake! All my horse for goodness sake! All my acting jobs are always set in the acting jobs are always set in the present day. I’m like, “aargh! I present day. I’m like, “aargh! I just want a wig; a big curly wig!”’ just want a wig; a big curly wig!”’ Casting directors take note . . . Casting directors take note . . .

Liz Kingsman: One-Woman Show, Traverse Theatre, Show, Traverse Theatre, 16–28 August, 10pm. 16–28 August, 10pm.

After recently becoming a father to a boy, Chris Gethard has begun to reassess his relationship with his own dad. Aged 42, he happily recognises that he’s in the firm grip of a midlife crisis. This recently prompted him to become a volunteer ambulance driver in his home town in New Jersey, something to give his life more purpose than simply being a parent (and comedian, writer and actor).

After a long preamble, Gethard talks about the pressures of trying to successfully raise a young child, while analysing his own upbringing in a search for clues to good parenting. His fondness for dissection extends to evaluating the crowd’s response to jokes right after he’s told them, a process which only serves to impede the momentum he’s built.

Unfortunately, many of Gethard’s stories, while well told, are entirely unembellished with jokes. He explains (at length) the difference between US public service broadcasting and cable TV in order to set up a routine about Sesame Street, but it’s just dry exposition without any gags. There are some nice moments in A Father And The Sun, including a joyously cathartic public outing of his school bully, but it could do with a little less analysis and a bit more humour. (Murray Robertson) n Gilded Balloon Teviot, until 28 August, 6pm.

JO GRIFFIN PEOPLE PERSON lllll

As a stand-up, Jo Griffin is something of an impressionist. Largely rejecting set-ups and punchlines, she instead shares a chatty but relentless monologue of her anxieties and insecurities. Her humour emerges incrementally in broad brush strokes of wry self-analysis and casual crowd interrogation, even when she’s only seeking reassurance that she might be more-or-less normal.

In her mid-thirties, tutoring over-privileged kids who ask her destabilising questions, their panicking parents an ever-present background hum in her life, Griffin shares an overcrowded home with strangers and struggles with her ex’s engagement to another woman. And she yearns in vain to eavesdrop on men sharing their true feelings. There may not be anything particularly profound or unique in her concerns about being an instinctive people-pleaser who has perhaps sidelined her own happiness. But she’s an engaging talker and the show closes on a winningly upbeat note. (Jay Richardson) n Assembly Roxy, until 28 August, 7.10pm.

CONRAD KOCH WHITE NOISE 

Fiercely intelligent and equally crude, ventriloquist Conrad Koch aims his whip-smart wit at the Achilles heel of anti-racism allies: white guilt and latent racism. In White Noise, he plays the moderate progressive, whose belief in a hopeful future where love conquers all is savagely dashed by a frank cynic, his puppet Chester Missing.

For the most part Koch’s ventriloquism is convincing, though his and Chester’s rapid-fire sparring does trigger a few lapses. This is forgivable, given the sheer amount of ground that is covered. The ripostes between puppet and puppeteer bring a frenzied hilarity, as well as self-deprecating social commentary; their so-called psychic connection allows Chester to unmask how white people like Koch pay lip service to anti-racism without doing the proper work.

At times the performance veers a little close to think-piece territory. The idea that western journalists are more comfortable with Ukrainian refugees because they are white, or that apologies for colonialism are less impactful than reparations, aren’t particularly radical, though they are topical. Koch’s performance is strongest when his own experiences of whiteness shine through.

His testimony of when he first realised that he lived under apartheid (aged six, when his mother urged him to ‘thank your lucky stars that you weren’t born Black in South Africa’) feels especially impactful for a British audience, whose experiences of racism are more insidious. Koch acknowledges the difficulty of telling jokes about white privilege without veering into white saviourism, but he carries it off with flair and a self-aware wink. (Becca Inglis)

 Pleasance Courtyard, until 29 August, 9.45pm.

BY MAX DICKINS

DIRECTED BY HANNAH EIDINOW

3.30PM (4.30PM) 04-28 AUGUST 2022

Already acclaimed for award-winning Fringe shows like Legs and Logs, Julia Masli’s latest invention is yet another mind-boggling hour of highly creative absurdist comedy. Few performers would be able to captivate an audience with only a pair of googly eyes and some body paint, but Masli proves less is more when you have bucket-loads of imagination.

The Estonian clown may describe her work as ‘radically unintellectual’, but the punchlines of many sequences feel multi-layered and thought provoking. Through telling the (presumably semi-autobiographical) story of how she became a performer, Masli manages to hilariously dissect the frivolousness of topics (from marriage to American capitalism) using basic DIY props and less than three-word sentences.

From snow and water to Maltesers and condoms, all manner of substances make an appearance on stage, each masterfully used to build and defuse tension. Clunky transitions are part of the shtick and audience engagement is the show’s main driving force. Sadly, the only thing that slows Masli down during this particular performance is an apprehensive crowd who don’t always match the energy she emits. But her instantly likeable nature and ingenious concepts keep things ticking along, even when onlookers aren’t prepared to get on her level. (Megan Merino) n Assembly Roxy, until 28 August, 9.55pm.

COLIN HOULT THE DEATH OF ANNA MANN lllll

After a five-year hiatus, the fizzingly fierce and fiendishly femme Anna Mann returns for one last hurrah. Her creator and host body, Colin Hoult, has decided to lay his endlessly eccentric alter ego to rest in one last boisterous Fringe blowout.

In a magnificent memoir of Mann’s extraordinary life (so incredible you’d think it was made up), we’re journeyed through tales of ex-husbands and showbiz as well as various slices of utter nonsense. Hoult’s quickfire delivery keeps the audience on their toes; they’ve barely caught a breath from the last laugh before the next punchline hits them right in the face.

A long-term fixture on the Fringe who is perhaps more recognisable to many from Netflix’s After Life and BBC One’s This Time With Alan Partridge, Hoult’s untameable understanding for the mechanics of comedy create an expertly written character that has his audience beside themselves repeating Mann’s catchphrase of ‘fuck off, I love it!’ (Rachel Cronin) n Pleasance Courtyard, until 28 August, 9.10pm.

PICTURE: MATT CROCKETT MAISIE ADAM BUZZED lllll

Maisie Adam is flying high and gleeful over life’s wins: travelling around for her dream job, getting recently engaged and, best of all, being able to boast about her footballing talent (a special surprise). OK, the famous haircut has presented minor hassles, but Adam points out its versatility for Zoom gigs. It’s a treat to hear about the hilarious yet very believable marriage proposal, the antics of her competitive granny, and her special rapport with Ian Hislop. And the news of how this heterosexual northerner has been welcomed in Brighton is truly touching.

It’s hard to know how much emphasis to put on feminism when considering Buzzed; Adam pinpoints an irritation at some critics’ obsession with the fact that she’s a female who makes jokes. Yet like a candle to a balloon she effortlessly obliterates their significance. As she discusses her wedding plans, however, attempts to skirt around the Autotrader-like transactional elements of a traditional ceremony and surname arrangements throw up some conundrums. But puzzles are what make life interesting and her indefatigably cheerful attitude defuses most tensions. When Adam reaches the part about wedding speeches, the genius twist that triggers the audience’s howls is one of the most empowering things you’ll witness on stage this month.

Warmly spirited in her mockery of people, Adam’s anecdotal expressions of frustration are hard to take seriously when you can just picture her trying to check the corners of her mouth from grinning. She presents a gloriously untroubled attitude. (Rosanna Miller)

n Gilded Balloon Teviot, until 29 August, 5.30pm.

STAND ONE

10.00 STEWART LEE, 3 - 28 AUG (NOT 15 OR 16) | 18+ 11.45 SEYMOUR MACE, 4 - 28 AUG (NOT 15) | 14+ 13.30 MARK THOMAS, 4 - 28 AUG (NOT 15) | 14+ 15.15 SIMON MUNNERY, 4 - 28 AUG (NOT 15) | 14+ 17.00 GARETH WAUGH, 4 - 29 AUG (NOT 15) | 14+ 18.45 KAI HUMPHRIES, 4 - 28 AUG (NOT 15 OR 22) | 16+

STAND TWO

12.00 JOANNA NEARY, 4 - 28 AUG (NOT 15) | 16+ 13.20 RACHEL JACKSON, 4 - 28 AUG (NOT 15 OR 24) | 16+ 14.40 MARY BOURKE, 4 - 28 AUG (NOT 15) | 16+ 16.00 MARJOLEIN ROBERTSON, 4 - 28 AUG (NOT 15) | 14+ 17.20 GAVIN WEBSTER, 4 - 28 AUG (NOT 15) | 14+

STAND NEW TOWN - GRAND HALL

NOON IN CONVERSATION WITH…, 6 - 28 AUG (NOT 24)* | 12+ 13.50 STEWART LEE: SNOWFLAKE, 3 - 28 AUG (NOT 15 OR 16) | 14+ 15.40 JOHN LLOYD: DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?, 5 - 15 AUG | 14+ 15.40 DARREN ‘LOKI’ MCGARVEY: THE SOCIAL DISTANCE

BETWEEN US, 16 - 21 AUG | 16+ 17.20 OMID DJALILI: THE GOOD TIMES, 4 - 20 AUG (NOT 15) | 16+ 17.20 TIME’S PLAGUE- DAVID HAYMAN, 21 - 28 AUG | 14+ 19.10 SH!T-FACED SHOWTIME: A PISSEDMAS CAROL, 3 - 28 AUG | 16+

STAND NEW TOWN - LOWER HALL

13.00 DES CLARKE: ONE O’ CLOCK FUN, 5 - 10, 12 - 14 AUG (NOT 11) | 14+ 13.00 MARK WATSON: MORE BANGING ON ABOUT TIME AND

SIMILAR ISSUES (WORK IN PROGRESS), 15 - 19 AUG | 12+ 14.50 HENRY NORMAL: THE ESCAPE PLAN, 5 - 7 AUG | 14+ 14.50 DAVID KAY: GARDEN OFFICE LEGEND, 8 - 14 AUG | 14+ 14.50 THE ECHO SALON, 15 - 26 AUG (NOT 20, 21) | 14+ 14.50 WORD UP, 20-21, 27-28 AUG | 14+

STAND NEW TOWN - STUDIO

12.05 POSSIBLY THE LAST CHANCE TO SEE SUSAN

MORRISON, 4 - 28 AUG (NOT 16) | 16+ 13.30 THE CABARET OF DANGEROUS IDEAS, 5 - 28 AUG * | 14+ 14.55 ADA CAMPE: TOO LITTLE, TOO SOON, 4 - 28 AUG (NOT 15TH) | 14+ 16.20 PIP UTTON AS ‘BACON’, 5 - 28 AUG (NOT 9, 16, 17, 23, 24) | 14+ 16.20 POLITICS & POETRY WITH CORBYN & MCCLUSKEY, 9 AUG | 14+ 17.45 THE CABARET OF DANGEROUS IDEAS, 5 - 28 AUG * | 14+ 19.10 2022 - THE BEGINNING OF THE END - VLADIMIR MCTAVISH, 4 - 28 AUG (NOT 16) | 14+ 19.10 BOB DOOLALLY LIVE & HALF-CUT IN QATAR, 16 AUG (& AT

STAND 1 ON 15 AUG) | 18+ 20.35 AFROPOLITICOOL - EUNICE OLUMIDE, 4 - 21 AUG (NOT 16) | 16+ 20.35 ABBY WAMBAUGH AND BRONWYN SWEENEY, 22 - 28 AUG | 14+ 22.00 KEVIN P. GILDAY: SPAM VALLEY, 4 - 14 AUG | 18+ 22.00 A CELEBRATION OF FATHER TED WITH JOE ROONEY, 15 - 21 AUG | 18+ 22.00 PHIL DIFFER: MY MEDICAL HELL, 22 - 28 AUG | 18+

18.45 THE FANNIES BIG NIGHT OUT (15TH ONLY) | 18+ 20.20 JO CAULFIELD, 5 - 28 AUG (NOT 15 OR 22) | 16+ 20.20 ELEANOR MORTON (15TH ONLY) | 16+ 22.00 SEANN WALSH, 3 - 28 AUG (NOT 15) | 16+ 22.00 BOB DOOLALLY (15TH ONLY) | 18+ 23.55 THE STAND LATE CLUB (FRI/SATS ONLY) | 18+

18.40 ROBIN GRAINGER, 4 - 28 AUG (NOT 15) | 16+ 20.00 RYAN CULLEN, 4 - 28 AUG (NOT 15) | 16+ 21.20 TOM MAYHEW, 4 - 28 AUG (NOT 15) | 18+ 22.40 LEE BROPHY, 4 - 28 AUG (NOT 15) | 18+

21.00 FRED MACAULAY- WHAT(EVER) NEXT?, 5 - 6 AUG | 16+ 21.00 JIM SMITH: THE HILLS HAVE AYES, 12 - 14 AUG | 16+ 21.00 PIP UTTON IS ADOLF, 15, 20, 21 AUG | 16+ 21.00 LIZ LOCHHEAD WITH STEVE KETTLEY ON SAX: BACK IN

THE SADDLE, 18 & 19 AUG | 14+ 21.15 FUN LOVIN’ CRIME WRITERS, 8 - 11 AUG | 12+ 23.00 THE STAND’S PICK OF THE FRINGE, 5, 6, 12, 13, 19, 20, 26, 27

AUG | 16+

16.40 PAUL SINHA: ONE SINHA LIFETIME, 4 - 28 AUG (NOT 16) | 16+ 18.30 THE BEST OF IRISH COMEDY, 5 - 28 AUG | 16+ 20.30 THE BEST OF SCOTTISH COMEDY, 5 - 28 AUG | 18+ 22.35 LEICESTER SQUARE THEATRE ALL STARS, 5 - 14 AUG | 18+ 22.35 FLATAND THE CURVES, 16 - 28 AUG | 14+