Amy Matthews @ Monkey Barrel at the Tron

Amy Matthews' new show I Feel Like I’m Made of Spiders is sharp, controlled and intensely funny; a salient and self-aware musing on the reality of not being okay, and what that means for how we live our lives.  

Her hour utilises a truly disquieting, rather alarming introduction to ensure the audience is completely ensnared. Levity returns like a slingshot as Matthews relaxes back to deliver a shimmering set that somehow sees genuinely concerning mental health troubles (dissociation) take the hand of biting observational comedy (the aubergine emoji, children at weddings, the ridiculous state of greeting card stores).

Off-stage audio is utilised brilliantly in the context of a recurring joke that does a lot of work in tying the theme of the show together. It really feels like we are given a snapshot into Matthews’ difficult last eleven months, created by this through-line: reliance on friends who are in VERY different stages of life from her, returning to the parental home and the draining hunt for a private therapist are sounding boards for Matthews’ sagacious wit. 

Jokes that require slightly more build-up, such as a bit about Henry VIII’s wives and the types of children you invariably see at friends’ weddings, pay-off in spades, as Matthews’ ease on stage contributes to funny asides before the punchline even breaches, and the audience returns in alternating belly laughs and sounds of recognition to the elements that feel all too real. 

Matthews uses two failed relationships as the catalyst for the mental place her show hinges on, but the content does not hover on either. ...Spiders is successful because, given this context, the show feels alarmingly personal. It’s about what we recognise and empathise within ourselves from Matthews’ rollercoaster experience and observations during this tumultuous period, and the audience falls in line resultantly. Ultimately, though, it provides a diving platform for Matthews to show her audiences that what's to come next after this incredible Fringe run is a groundswell of emphatic success… and it’s well-deserved.

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Amy Matthews: I Feel Like I'm Made of Spiders, Monkey Barrel at The Tron, run ended
Follow Amy on Instagram at @amyfmatthews
amymatthewscomedy.com