Stella Graham: Karma Comedian

Review by Bernard O'Leary | 11 Aug 2012

Stella Graham has quite a promising concept for her show. She's going to tell us about things she's done in her life, and we're going to vote on whether she deserves to go to heaven or hell for them.

This is window dressing around an hour of autobiographical material, which generally falls a bit flat. The stories are intriguing: run-ins with horny waiters, helping strangers control their cleavage, and tales of herĀ  aniseed-addicted mum. All of them are rather tame though, and are rarely worthy of Heaven or Hell. Combined with some gags that are generally a bit tepid, it doesn't make for a thrilling show.

It might seem gauche to mention Graham's appearance, but she is remarkably good-looking, so much so that a group of Irish boys in the audience start blushing every time they look at her (which, for me, was the funniest part of the evening). That combo of great looks and unchallenging material has worked fine for Jack Whitehall, so if you're a TV executive, drop what you're doing and go see her now.

You get the feeling that Graham is looking for more than that, though, and would like to really make people laugh. Which is great, but it's not going to happen until she starts letting her inner demons and angels run riot.

Stella Graham: Karma Comedian, Jekyll & Hyde, 19:00, until 25 August (not 15), Free http://www.edfringe.com/whats-on/comedy/karma-comedian-stella-graham-free