Edinburgh Fringe 2009
Low Down
There’s been an increasing trend in recent years for combining stand up with a narrative thread. Your attention may have already been held by the likes of Daniel Kitson and Stefan Golaszewski, but more than able to stand on that podium is Laura Solon, as she involves us in a little slice of life dealing in hope, ambition, and, yes, death.
Review
It is indeed a story soup, a well blended mix of clever one liners, a sprinkling of fascinating and well rounded characters, and a genuinely engaging plot. Solon has a remarkable gift for managing to create characters that are just on the other side of cartoonish, yet have them entirely believable.
She has many gifts at her disposal: wide, expressive eyes, and an elegant turn of phrase based on acute observation, and even cuter gags (such as explaining why ‘tits up’ isn’t really an appropriate phrase for describing something going wrong). More importantly, she’s a honestly engaging presence to have on stage, both confident and generous; equally subtle and dynamic. It means that when she pushes the boundaries of realism in her writing – as does often happen – it doesn’t matter: we’re delighted enough to be included in her world, and celebrate the wit and charm of the evening.
This is simply very inventive, almost irritatingly good story telling – the sort that makes any writers in the audience feel just a little bit jealous. Go see.
