one4review | On 16, Aug 2024

This show fits into that sub-genre of using comedy to highlight a particular issue, where you get an informative lecture delivered by someone who can in fact perform (sorry, some of my lecturers, but your research did not make you a good or coherent speaker), leavened by comedy. This show has Abigail Rolling, practising lawyer, talking about the failing criminal justice system, and doing her best to find the funny in it.

The show is definitely more interesting than funny, though there’s enough funny to justify a place in the comedy section of the guide. There’s a good mix of personal experience, information and statistics alongside the humour, and the highlighting of the issue part is light-touch and evidence based. The whole thing has a good structure and one element flows smoothly into the next, and Ms Rolling delivers in with a dry pragmatism that suits the subject material.

The stars awarded to this show come down to expectation management: it claims to be comedy, and against this parameter, it doesn’t quite hit the mark, though there’s definitely potential there. Measured on its own merits – a light-touch insight into a justice system on the verge of collapse – this show definitely achieves its goals.

Reviewed by Laura

Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose
20:20
Until 25th (not 19th)