It had been a traumatic morning and the afternoon turned out to be more of the same (toilet that wouldn't work in the morning, car having to be relocated in the afternoon) which also involved me missing a show. So I was ready to enjoy this one by the time I finally made it to Pleasance Courtyard.
Ms. Pascoe needs no introduction. If you've tuned into a panel or comedy show on TV recently you'll have seen her. She also happened to be the last of the current "big female comics" whom I hadn't seen live and, like Pokemon, you gotta catch 'em all. So I was able to finish off my virtual collection book.
Ms. P bounced onto stage in a spangly leotard, fishnets, bow-tie and long white jacket ("Yes, I AM wearing this. I want to be the first solo couple on Strictly being both the man and the woman") and she maintained a high level of energy throughout her set. The show is based around the fact she broke up with her long-term boyfriend (John Robins - fellow comic and also doing a show in the Fringe this year - awkward) and her reactions to it, ranging from Christmas itself (they were still living together), a post-Christmas yoga retreat in Costa Rica ("Brava, Del Sol - nobody told me Costa Rica wasn't in Spain. First thing I knew about it was when I got on the plane and was told it was a 14 hours flight. What route were they taking?"), a solo visit to Paris hoping to come up with some new material (did you know such trips are tax-deductible as Ms. P explained?) and all manner of interludes, rambles and surprising opinions (never having a brother, she mused what it might be like to have one and experiment with incest at awkward family gatherings such as funerals).
Overall the theme was not of being single but of being self-reliant (a theme that turned up later that evening and I have little doubt will be part of many shows this year). Oh, and also that your family tend to mess you up, a tale woven throughout the whole show.
Ms. P was very much as she appears on television; chatty, approachable, a little scatter-brained but no doubt of her intelligence and sharpness. A very good show and thoroughly recommended.
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