one4review | On 15, Aug 2025

In the dictionary under Marmite is this show. One man in the front row had the best time of his life, falling to his knees in worship during the standing ovation (I do not jest). Other folk looked a bit confused, but willing. I spent most of the show trying to be hooked, but I just couldn’t manage. I think the consensus might be that Su Mi is an excellent performer who has committed something akin to peak comedy, but in such a way that the appeal is quite niche. Not many people know about this hilltop, and the path to it wanders so far away from the mainstream that it seems like a mirage.

There is a lot going on in this show and a lot of it is loud. Some of it is a very nice song about boobs. Other parts include travelling on the tube, horns (loud), and a fair bit of vulgarity (some loud, some mimed). This account is more comprehensible than the show, which, delivered by a figure in a checkerboard morph suit with melting clown makeup and a fabulous wig is more de-humanising than the stereotypes Su is challenging. The outfit really makes it feel like watching a performer from another planet.

And yet, and yet. Though this really isn’t my vibe (and I’m really sorry if my bewilderment dampened Su’s), I can see what Su’s doing here: challenging expectations and challenging ideas of what counts as funny. This isn’t unplanned, unscripted chaos, and even the transitions are a choice, not a fait accompli. This is what the Fringe is for, and I’m glad Su’s having fun and creating anarchy in a damp cellar, even if I felt a bit tangoed by the end.

Reviewed by Laura
18:40
Underbelly Cowgate (Iron Belly)
Until 24th (not 19th)