Edinburgh Fringe 2024
Rose Matafeo: On and On and On
Rose Matafeo
Genre: Comedy
Venue: Pleasance Courtyard
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
Rose Matafeo: On and On and On is a solo stand up show about a woman and her notes app. The non-stop barrage of jokes and energy brings the audience on a wild and hilarious ride through Matafeo’s train of thought.
Review
Pleasance Fourth is a large venue. It isn’t just large by seating, it’s large stage that, at least when a comic occupies it, can feel like a gaping black hole that can never be filled. Rose Matafeo, though, uses this massive swath of floor to her advantage. She moves throughout the space energetically managing to make use of the stage size without it feeling forced. After a rousing entrance, she quickly moves on to the core storyline of her show, the notes app. She brings the app into the physical space and, without the large stage, this would not have worked as well.
Matafeo’s comedy relies on a frantic energy that makes the hour simultaneously feel like five minutes and a full day. She packs an enormous amount into the show (often what a work in progress is for), but although some landed better than others, there were no universal duds. Her stories were exciting and varied, never taking predictable turns. The only consistency in these tangents was a return to this central note.
Matafeo brings a lot of herself to her show. She not only focuses on stories from her own life, but she stands in front of the audience as herself. She doesn’t portray a character or put on a bit, she is unapologetically herself. This version is a bit confrontational, but that’s what makes the show exciting.
Matafeo said herself that jokes come in and out throughout the run, so there is an expectation of a slightly different show each night. She leans into this chaos and, keeping with her aforementioned style of truth, lets the audience know if something is new, old, working, or, in her eyes, flopping. The audience connection doesn’t stop there, though. In the performance I attended, there was a walkout halfway through. Unfortunately for the audience member, they were sat on the far side away from the door. Without delay, as any comedian would do, Matafeo called them out. What’s interesting though, is the manner in which she did. She was almost excited that this happened and supportive of the audience member. Instead of making fun of them, she invited them to take part in the show by walking in a certain way. As such, she gave this audience member a moment of applause, of beauty, instead of embarrassment. This moment exemplifies what’s at the heart of Matafeo’s comedy, the human experience.
As with any work in progress, the flow isn’t perfect and there is some refining to do. With a few more weeks under her belt, On and On and On can become even better, but even as a WIP, it demonstrates escellent work..
