one4review | On 16, Aug 2022

I first saw Elf Lyons doing stand-up 11 years ago when she was barely out of her teens and it was obvious that there was real potential, some of which was when her Fringe offering from 2017 was nominated for the Best Show award.
Elf is an excellent performer, she has a very fertile imagination, or is it the voices that are in her head assisting, but you never get a conventional show these days. This is a horrifying dark comedy hour inspired by Stephen King books and more than a touch of Hammer horror.
Lyons trained in clowning at Ecole Phillipe Gaulier in Paris and skills from that blend with storytelling, mime and stand-up as we hear of boarding school trauma, a fear of Kevin Bacon, mothers’ warnings, train journeys.
She has a prop heavy stage, some are put to good use, others less so, but she certainly cannot be accused of being one dimensional in her comedy.
The finale, although, alluded to earlier on the show was something else as Elf and her hammer run riot, fortunately on props, not on the audience.
It is fair to say this show is not for everybody, however if you like different, wacky, yet imaginative then this could be just the one for you.
3.5***
Reviewed by Geoff
Gilded Balloon Dining Room
20.30 to 21.30
Until 29th