(3 / 5)





It’s the voice really. The voice of Kristen Schaal which has frequented extensively upon acclaimed animation and comedies of the past fifteen years. Bob’s Burgers, Gravity Falls (a personal fav) and The Flight of the Concords are all in Kristen’s payback catalogue, impressive for their clout. In this pseudo one-woman show (in which case it is not), could her delightful and approachable demeanor fair well on stage?

At the Roundhouse the warm up was good fair. Chole Petts was more than chuffed to write the wrongs of lesbians and ladies who love the beautiful game of football. Her brief set had hearty laughs and was a great example of a comedian encasing the audience with well crafted jokes. Masculinity was a main stay, just how to be so and how the toxic side has never really gone away. Some riffing of American patrons was swell and over enthusiastic Sweds also got a ribbing. If stand up is an art form (which it is), then Petts has got the mastery of it.

Kristen’s piece: The Legend of Crystal Shell (is that a riff in people mispronouncing her name?) Was silly, lude, touching and through it all not quite hitting the mark. Her ballet loving character Crystal is revealed to be half human (not a centaur) with a good bit of pacing in revealing the joke. Crystal years to meet her daddy horse again after years. John Robert’s (again, of Bob’s Burgers acclaim) is revealed as this father figure with plenty of surrealist horsey humour. Looking like a strange mix of country singer, punk, 50s dandy and other bizzarities, Roberts got swift vocals and musical numbers verging on the outrageously hammy, with ending riffs done with aplomb. This sleazball father might just save this daughter after alland aid in rites of passage, if only there was little more of a narrative fibre to it all.

Thankfully, there was not mass of crowd work here, something that comedians like Gianmarco Soresi lean on far to heavily. That’s a different sort of show at least and very popular. Kristen gets laughs and I did join in. I would not boast huge belly busters but they were triggered on several occasion. Her dry, delightful tone is often enough to lead in punchlines, one liners and interpretive dance moves parodying Swan Lake, might be the true highlights. Directed by Frank Smith, this had all the hallmarks of an sweet oddity, yet even the songs by Big Black Delta (also fun and idiosyncratic) could not save this from middle of the road in a one horse town…..