one4review | On 09, Aug 2024

There’s definitely enough good stuff in this show that with a bit of restructuring and redirecting, it would be great. The form I saw didn’t quite pull it off.

The concept of the show is that Ms Lucas has a whole lot of interesting things to tell us, but is continually distracted by the 1859 Pig War, and much of the show is thus an account of that confrontation. The concept is sound, but Ms Lucas didn’t manage to set up or convincingly sell her distraction – the overt references to her distraction were a little jarring, and seemed to come out of nowhere, and the delivery didn’t convince me it was genuine.

The story of the conflict itself was interesting and engaging, although it was challenging to follow all the characters and which side they were on – save for the one assigned a leitmotif. The conscious stepping back to the ‘proper’ show, the stand up bits, broke the flow, and keeping track was doubly difficult.

Ms Lucas herself didn’t seem to be fully behind her own material, and not entirely convinced of her ability to take the audience with her, commenting a few times on our lack of energy. There’s an interesting show hidden in here, with a compelling performer, it just needs a bit of excavation and refinement.

Reviewed by Laura

Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose
14:20
Until 26th (not 12th or 19th)