RACHEL PARRIS: POISE at Leicester Square Theatre
★★★★
“a clever and entertaining evening”
Rachel Parris hits a lot of classic millennial comedy topics: home ownership, tackling anxiety, the pressures of female perfection. But she does so with a slick confidence, and a consistency which makes her stand up shine.
Her freshest, sharpest jokes are in her patches of satire, as fans of The Mash Report will attest. In Poise she combines topical comedy (maybe national service could be utilised to tackle the childcare crisis) with some bits which are obviously older, her last tour was five years ago. Songs about Liz Truss and the queues at Dover are less topical now, but are still funny, and bring a warm nostalgia to the show.
Her particular brand of comic feminist song brought her prevalence on podcasts like The Guilty Feminist and these work well live, weaved into the whole show. She sits at the piano, belting out memorable songs like ‘What do Women Want?’ (Parris suggests it’s gloves…) and her take on the iconography of the Bond girl, which is a showstopping end to the night.
It’s not only politics though. Parris lays her trepidation about turning 40 bare – admitting her life is in a far better place than on her last tour. She is used to putting her personal life on display, she’s married to fellow comic Marcus Brigstocke, with whom she has a podcast ‘How Was it For You?’ But this show is carefully crafted, allowing the audience windows into her life, without ever going too deep, or baring too much.
Some parts are stronger than others, an a cappella folk number about the wisdom she’s gained with age is a weird note towards the end, though ties the themes together neatly.
There could be more of an overarching story across the show, but as a series of bits, broken up by comic songs which showcase her impressive vocal skills, this makes for a clever and entertaining evening.
RACHEL PARRIS: POISE at Leicester Square Theatre
Reviewed on 5th June 2024
by Auriol Reddaway
Photography by Karla Gowlett
Rachel Parris is touring with Poise until 20th October – click on the image below for tour dates and tickets
Previously reviewed at this venue:
SH!T-FACED SHOWTIME: A PISSEDMAS CAROL | ★★★★★ | November 2023
THE AYES HAVE IT! THE AYES HAVE IT! | ★★★★ | November 2023
SH!T-FACED SHAKESPEARE®: MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING | ★★★★★ | July 2023
SHIT-FACED SHAKESPEARE: ROMEO & JULIET | ★★★★ | July 2022
A PISSEDMAS CAROL | ★★★★★ | December 2021
SH!T-FACED MACBETH | ★★★★★ | July 2021
RACHEL PARRIS
RACHEL PARRIS
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