one4review | On 17, Aug 2022

Hatty’s assistant, Trina, does a lovely job of introducing the immediately likeable Hatty Ashdown on to the stage, and Hatty fully embraced the rock-and-roll lifestyle of a free Fringe performer to give as many of the audience as she could reach a fist bump. Ms Ashdown maintained that likeability, sincerity, and energy throughout the show, securing and retaining the goodwill of the audience.

The show is about Hatty’s mum and her way of dealing with her troubles, and it’s also about how Hatty herself has dealt with her own troubles and grief. Hatty is an engaging and enthusiastic performer, and her material contains good stuff and flashes of brilliance, but the show as a whole thing feels a bit disjointed, not aided by the fact she isn’t off-book yet. It doesn’t have a clear trajectory from beginning to end, and while all the pieces are there, they don’t seem to have been put together in a manner which showcases them to their best effect.

Ms Ashdown has a nice manner to her audience interactions, and seems genuinely interested in people, though I wonder if somehow anonymising the submitted audience worries would yield more and more interesting results.

This is a lovely comedian with good ideas in search of some structure.

Reviewed by Laura

PBH’s Free Fringe @ The Voodoo Rooms
14:00