“it’s refreshing to see an invigorating female comedian using comedy to directly address universal issues”
Award-winning Australian comedian and storyteller, Sarah Kendall, returns to the Soho Theatre with her latest show which involves a compilation of stories from various periods in her life. From vet appointments for a hamster to near-death experiences at an early age, Kendall walks us through the emotional rollercoaster of life condensed into a one-hour show.
Kendall has shifted from her previous stand-up persona, which won her the first of two Edinburgh Comedy Awards nominations, and now focuses more on using anecdotes and past experiences towards cultivating an incredibly unique and compelling style of storytelling, a perfect balance of tragedy and comedy.
One-Seventeen is a show comprised of various moments from Kendall’s life, often ones she deems herself as ‘life-changing’ such as watching Halley’s Comet as a child with her family in their back garden in Australia. Kendall presents these memories to the audience with a concoction of brilliantly timed jokes, an atmosphere of vulnerability and a deeply profound message within. What makes Kendall’s show so memorable and emotional at its climax is that it is riddled with anecdotes that relate to more than your average Anglo audience. Whilst the majority of today’s most popular comedians focus on the humour of the mundane, Kendall takes this comedic tool and, with her captivating storytelling, creates an underlying narrative of oneness and humility.
Kendall is a model example of comedian, tired from the already over-crowded stand-up scene, who has constructed her own unique comic style that appeals to a wider audience and doesn’t totally depend on minute cultural references. In the run-up to the Fringe it’s refreshing to see an invigorating female comedian using comedy to directly address universal issues we all will experience throughout life. Her show is carefully written so each story blends with the other, all weaving together as part of a rich narrative tapestry, with a great deal of depth embedded within.
“this hour long show delivers at least a giggle in every line”
After three days on the sofa coughing and hacking and bored out of my mind I was looking forward to an evening of laughter. The first joke of the evening was the journey into Soho – my local railway network could sell their timetable as a work of fiction and humour as all online information completely contradicts the departure screen on the platform. Despite this we arrived with enough time for a medicinal drink before heading upstairs in the Soho theatre.
Very quickly the lights dimmed and the screen in front of us flickered through some of the great mysteries, myths and legends of Great Britain – and at this point you need to hear the words ‘dun dun duuuuuun’ in your head for dramatic effect.
Our hosts for the evening, Olive Bacon, a Supernaturalist not pizza topping, and Dr. Teddy Tyrell, sometimes spelled with four Ds (played brilliantly by Rose Robinson and Will Close), arrived in sensible shoes and professor tweeds to take us on a whistle stop tour of the highlights of their ‘televisual investigations’.
With gusto and an air of authority we witnessed them delve into suspicious and undocumented anomalies across the History of the British Isle. Using their eye for detail, careful field notes, and relying entirely on instinct alone, they pose questions on the identity of Jack the Ripper, what happened to the Princes in the Tower, and dared to reopen the old question regarding the gender of Elizabeth I …
With journalistic methods as minimal as their body of research, they jovially exclaim ‘evidence shmevidence’ in the face of opposition, disbelief and fact, and take us on an investigation of the Loch Ness Monster. This leads to disagreement and loss of faith, and much more hands-on detective work than ever before. The fight to prove their theories once and for all rested solely on scrap metal and a Pritt stick, can it be done?
Using a large screen to impart images familiar to us all, and with a script littered with song titles, lyrics, puns and ridiculous ‘alternative truths’ this hour long show delivers at least a giggle in every line. The audience was laughing along from the outset as this ‘mockumentory’ indeed mocked. The one or two moments where those on stage needed to stare at the ceiling, floor, or anywhere (as long as it wasn’t in the eye of their companion), in order to find composure, simply added to the amusement and the show never faltered in pace.
Having sold out at the Edinburgh Fringe last Summer, this debut show is hilarious in places and just outright funny all through. With a new ‘series of investigations’ set to hit the stage soon (again under the direction of Joseph Hancock) this should not be missed while you still have the chance. I for one can’t wait to seek out the next ‘Tibetan’ instalment of ‘Great British Mysteries?’
