Brighton Fringe 2026
Mrs Smith – 1,2,3 eyes ON ME
Ali Jay Comedy
Genre: Comedy, Stand-Up, Storytelling
Venue: The Caxton Arms
Festival: Brighton Fringe
Low Down
Right, everyone, settle down. Quiet at the back. Class is in session.
After a lifetime in the classroom, Mrs Smith takes you behind the curtain to reveal what teachers think about your precious little darlings, variably skilled parents, and the SLT (Senior Leadership Team). Through group therapy, lots of shouting, and some sharp insights, we learn more than we should about the state of education. Mrs Smith, for all the right reasons, comes across as the kind of teacher you always remember.
Review
Mrs Smith welcomed a full house to The Caxton Arms for what turned out to be a full, frank, and often funny insight into the world of primary school education.
First, a bit of background on the show. Mrs Smith has been teaching primary school children for a long time. During COVID, quite by accident, Mrs Smith went viral. As a result of her Facebook page, that internet success morphed into a stand-up comedy show, culminating in a successful run at the Edinburgh Festival. This is her new show.
Teacher stands centre stage, watching her pupils enter the room. There is a presence about her that is warm and welcoming, while still able to assume control with a look, a word, or even a frown.
Then we are off. She calls the room to order and initiates a familiar call-and-response to remind the audience who is in charge, engage them, and raise the energy level. The audience gleefully joins in. Within minutes, we are a room full of primary school children. Rules are laid out, permissive behaviours are identified, and hecklers are shut down before they can get going. All the while, a thread of humour runs through the opening section.
Mrs Smith quickly identifies who works in education — almost everyone — and who doesn’t: that would be me. The clever writing, show structure, and laugh-per-minute rate meant that the references only those working in education fully got did not spoil my enjoyment of the show.
The show is well thought out; each section leads seamlessly into the next, and we always know where we are in the comedy journey. There is a strong narrative arc. Stories are well-told, leading to well-positioned punchlines. The show’s opening frames this as an interactive group therapy session; it works because it encourages group responses to calls to action. We, the pupils, shout lustily and laugh loudly.
I noted that some of the ‘yuckier’ elements of the stories felt a little too sanitised. Many adults, like children, still find yucky things funny. I know it is childish, but we never really let go of the inner child; we just bury it under layers of civility. Given that so many in the audience work in education, there is scope here to be a little more graphic.
At one point, Mrs Smith went old school and used a large sketch pad as she took us through some excellent puns. Switching to a visual aid proved a good way to take a break from the stand-up. It came at a slight lull in the audience response and pulled the show back on track.
It is also worth noting that Mrs Smith did not follow a traditional path as a professional comedian; she found herself doing so because of her Facebook posts. That said, 40 years of standing in front of thirty children, five days a week, is good preparation for stand-up comedy. But talking continuously for fifty minutes is hard work and requires breath control. It is very easy for breathing to become out of sync with speech, so some attention to this may help maintain performance throughout the full fifty minutes.
Because this show comes from a lifetime spent teaching, it rings with authenticity, which more than makes up for the fact that she has not spent ten years touring comedy clubs doing ten-minute spots. Far from being a negative, this is a selling point. It genuinely offers the comedy-going public something different. Mrs Smith is warm, sharp and funny.
Mrs Smith clearly loves her job, has a keen eye for detail, and draws on a lifetime of stories. Combine that with intelligence, strong storytelling, and genuine passion, and the result is something worth seeing. She comes across as the kind of teacher you remember for all the right reasons.
If you work in education or have school-age children, this show is for you. Even if you do not work in education, it offers something fresh and well worth seeing. Just don’t bring the children! An afternoon in class without being sent to the head? That is a win.
