one4review | On 11, Aug 2021

The delightful Ms Manito greeted us at the door and said goodbye from there at the end, and the bit in between was accomplished and smoothly delivered and not at all like a sixth-ever performance, performed without the benefit of previews to iron out the creases. Ms Manito is immediately likeable, creating warmth in the audience which carried us through a slightly messy middle with its couple of lines that don’t quite land (confusion in response, rather than hostility) to an ‘ending’ section that was, in fact, most of the show, but also fluently delivered, absorbing, and rose to a punchy end.

Ms Manito’s comedy is observational, and the show composed of stories and anecdotes about her father and her husband and cultural differences, about her experience of growing up in Essex in the 90s, about her own interactions with men in the media and in real life; and how all of that has influenced her feminism. She tells us some things you just can’t laugh at – things shouted from vans – and turns other things on their head – romantic ‘how they met’ stories – to uproarious effect. Given the last year (which is mentioned but not dwelt upon) I get the sense that Ms Manito will deliver reliable and quality comedy whenever she gets on stage.

Review by Laura

Gilded Balloon Teviot
9th/10th August, 18:30