KATE-LOIS ELLIOTT: GENTRIFCKED* at the Museum of Comedy

★★★

“Leaning into her charms, rather than rebelling against them, will see this show develop from strength to strength”

Kate-Lois Elliott wants us to know a secret about her. Something she’s only just discovered herself. Something punters may have guessed just from the double barrel first name but wasn’t obvious to her. She’s actually quite middle class.

Gentrif*cked, Kate-Lois Elliott’s debut, work-in-progress show, delivers as much swearing and millennial angst as you might expect from the title. She takes us through unsuccessful dating histories, loathing for estate agents and career woes. What you probably wouldn’t expect is that her mum grew up in a cult.

Elliott draws us in with this revelation and continues the family theme, telling us about her absent father. An observation on how dad’s pass on their wisdom draws some good, early laughs, particularly from some chortling dads in the crowd. She doubles down with a light foray into audience participation which works like a charm and provides some material for a quality call-back in the closing moments of the show.

Once she gets going, Elliott’s delivery is quite charming. She commands the stage of the intimate Museum of Comedy with her animated, high-energy performance. There are moments of brashness which for the most part don’t land. Probably because we don’t quite believe them. The overall impression we are left with is someone who is really quite sweet and middle class, who you just can’t imagine doing as many drugs as she wants you to believe.

But back to the cult. On the surface it’s the most original element in the otherwise well-trodden material, and a recurring theme that comes back throughout the show. Despite informing us that it was actually quite a boring cult by Netflix standards, it seems she wants to talk about her mum’s experience as this sounds intriguing. Much of the humour of it all does in fact come from the banality of the rules keeping the cult members in check, and the unexpected paths those who leave seem to take.

But here Kate-Lois is mistaken. Her strongest material is taken not from her mother’s experiences, but from her own, theatrical ones. She seems most at ease recounting her experiences teaching Shakespeare and telling us about the evolution of human storytelling. I left wanting more of this, as she clearly has some of her own unique stories to tell.

Gentrif*cked is safe but enjoyable fun that will no doubt improve after the work in progress feedback. Leaning into her charms, rather than rebelling against them, will see this show develop from strength to strength.

Kate-Lois Elliott: Gentrif*cked

★★★

Museum of Comedy

KATE-LOIS ELLIOTT: GENTRIFCKED* at the Museum of Comedy

★★★

“Leaning into her charms, rather than rebelling against them, will see this show develop from strength to strength”