Mary Bourke – Muffragette

Review by Tony Makos | 07 Aug 2013

Mary Bourke has an uncanny ability to switch from being compellingly serious, to downright filthy in the same sentence. It’s a skill she uses well in this show; a polemic on female objectification, injustice and misogyny, based on the only slightly tongue-in-cheek suggestion we replace the "outdated" term 'feminist' with the much more descriptive "muffragette."

Thanks to a skit on troll-baiting alongside lessons passed down from her grandmother, the crowd are on her side. Even when the show’s politics veer dangerously towards too serious, Bourke lightens the mood with beautifully timed punchlines in her trademark, lilting Dublin accent.

The highlight of the show: a gorgeous model drafted in to show the level of misogyny present in lad’s mag photo shoots – you have to be careful not to lose control of your faculties – I doubt you will see a funnier thematic demonstration at any other show this Fringe. This reviewer pretty much lost his shit.

Muffragette informs and entertains, great for audiences looking for more substance to their comedy without losing laughs. This year Bourke has a winner on her hands. [Tony Makos]

Mary Bourke - Muffragette, Stand 4, 5.50pm, until 25 Aug (not 12), £7/£6 http://www.edfringe.com/whats-on/comedy/mary-bourke-muffragette