Edinburgh Fringe 2024
#40 and single – The early morning Cabaret Comedy Show
Joyce Lao/ The Ally Artists Group LLC
Venue: The Space @ Symposium Hall
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
This is an idea which has merit, needs developed and a better structure. It is directed well enough but needs a stronger hand on the tiller whereas the theatre arts are well imagined and produced to give glitz and glamour in a typical Scottish summertime filled with the pouring rain.
Review
There is something very admirable about taking the plunge into cabaret and bringing it to the world’s biggest arts festival. There is then a question over whether it is foolhardy to perform your genre at a time that most people would not expect to see it. And here we have Dr. Kara Kibara, flouncing in to deliver a performance of gusto to a hardy bunch of early morning thrill seekers.
Kibara is a relationship guru with some experience in both rejection and heartache. This is used to flavour the offer of her service – she knows what it is like so can help you escape those familiar feelings. It is a persona which needs much confidence to bring it off. And this is where Joyce Lao struggles.
It’s an interesting concept and one which has a lot of material it could mine, but it feels like Lao is overly nervous in her delivery. The script does not always help as it feels far more improvised than it ought to be. Lao’s performance can appear hesitant with lines being abandoned halfway through and the delivery faltering. To support her, each morning, she has a guest who comes and fills a spot.
This morning, we have Matt Wills; a personable comic at 4 foot 11. Who has material based upon his height which is amusing. The material is a little predictable, but he is there to punt his own show – as well as support Lao. The intriguingly named, My Wife Took My Dad To A Brothel (I Drove) is a free Fringe show which he claims is wildly successful. On the basis of the material, he had on display this morning, he can tell a story and is engaging enough but I am unsure if I would drive all the way to hear the rest of his routine. But he was getting plenty of laughs from the crowd.
Before and after Wills’ section Lao tries to stake a claim for her therapy sessions at an exorbitant price. This is material, which is funny, but that lack of confidence undermines the humour. If there was less stumbling and a better structure, it would go a long way to making this a better success. Perhaps using the beginning to set out the agenda for the sessions; making it a ten-point plan which covers the ten things you have to remember to be a success and swipe right, are the following, and then abandon it half way through which works well when she abandons songs in a similar manner later. The interruption from Wills meant that the flow was gone, but it managed to give time for a costume change. And where Lao is really good is singing. I also loved the sing a song half way through then we are done with it and move on. That was genuinely funny.
It is that glimpse of the personality, the cynical wrapped up in the enthusiastic, the caustic wit programmed to support an enriching and endearing programme and the chanteuse who can deliver a classic song reduced to delivering self-esteem courses in cheap motels and online because they cannot afford the Hilton Ballroom would be great. In short, Dr. Kara Kibara needs a bigger personality. As for Matt Wills, though I could not fit in his show this time round, I shall keep an eye out for him and try and spot his next appearance. Given his height and the busy world we live in, though I might not drive or skydive there, I might walk and I may have set myself a decent challenge…
