Edinburgh Fringe 2024
Aude Lener – Love Reboot
The Queen Comedy
Genre: Comedy, New Writing, Solo Show, Stand-Up, Storytelling
Venue: The Space UK
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
In just 50 minutes, Aude Lener once again proves herself a consummate performer, delivering a show that is as insightful as it is enjoyable. Well worth seeking out by anyone who appreciates comedy that’s warm, witty and heartfelt.
What sets Lener apart is her extraordinary expressiveness. Her face and physicality bring each of her characters to life with remarkable clarity, allowing her to shift moods and personas in an instant. This ability to inhabit multiple characters keeps the audience fully engaged, never quite sure what to expect next.
Review
Aude Lener, a seasoned performer with over two decades of experience on the French comedy scene, returns with a new show. Like her last solo show ‘On Edge’, ‘Love Reboot’, mixes storytelling, stand up and character led comedy. It is written and performed by Aude Lener, directed by Nicolas Goergen.
It is primarily in English with occasional forays into French, particularly when she’s chastising her spectral Aunt Madelaine, adding a delightful layer of authenticity and humour to the performance. The twist—that Aunt Madelaine is long dead but still insists on showing up at the most inconvenient moments, including her own funeral, adds a comedic edge.
The venue is small and intimate, which proves to be both a challenge and a gift. The close quarters suit Lener’s conversational style, allowing her to build a rapport with the audience that feels personal and engaging. However, those who saw her last year might miss the larger stage that allowed her to roam and incorporate offstage and backstage elements into her comedy. Despite this, Lener’s creativity shines through, as she cleverly uses the space she has, delivering some scenes from an offstage corner and involving her tech crew in a few surprise moments that break the fourth wall.
Lener’s performance is characterized by a relaxed yet assured style that never loses its momentum. The pacing is spot-on, with each sketch flowing naturally into the next, creating a cohesive narrative thread throughout the show. While Lener insists this is not an autobiographical piece, the sketches revolving around a failed or stalled love affair resonate with an authenticity that suggests otherwise. Her observational humour is razor-sharp, dissecting the quirks of love and relationships with a wit that had the audience laughing in recognition.
What sets Lener apart is her extraordinary expressiveness. Her face and physicality bring each of her characters to life with remarkable clarity, allowing her to shift moods and personas in an instant with just slight shift in stance, voice and expression. This ability to inhabit multiple characters keeps the audience fully engaged, never quite sure what to expect next.
Though there’s a little gentle audience engagement, it’s never forced or contrived, adding to the show’s intimate atmosphere. Lener’s exploration of love extends beyond the romantic, touching on the various forms of love that shape our lives. It’s a thoughtful, funny, and touching performance that left the audience thoroughly entertained.
In just 50 minutes, Aude Lener once again proves herself a consummate performer, delivering a show that is as insightful as it is enjoyable. Well worth seeking out by anyone who appreciates comedy that’s warm, witty and heartfelt.
At this early stage in the Fringe it is a hidden gem that deserves a bigger audience – the perfect early evening show for those seeking comedy but with a little more variety than stand up. Hopefully this will change and show will gain a strong following.
