Desiree Burch @ Monkey Barrel
Desiree Burch returns to the Edinburgh Fringe after a six-year hiatus with an energetic and important bang
It’s been six years since Desiree Burch graced a stage at the Edinburgh Fringe, and in that time her career has skyrocketed with appearances on Live at the Apollo and Taskmaster, but her body has fallen at the hands of the menacing, ne’er-talked-about ‘peri-peri’. Nothing to do with spicy chicken, unfortunately, but something that will make any womb-haver who survives over the age of 39 sweat regardless. Burch is, of course, talking about the peri-menopause; the unforgiving, much more evil, younger sibling of the menopause.
There’s something exciting about all this talk of things going south (and things already south turning dry) as well as brain fog and insomnia and, well, the list of symptoms is endless. Perhaps it’s because the delivery of the list is imbued with Burch’s trademark energy, which is boundless, shouty, and infectious. Her confidence relays a sense of authenticity – we trust we’re in good hands with somebody so assured. Or, perhaps it’s because finally someone is talking about this stage of life, which half of the population will enter and be subsequently terrorised by.
Burch is quick to point out that Generation X are the lost generation – in fact, she opens her set with it. Forced to grow up quickly by Boomers who wanted little to do with them, traumatised by their own journeys through a systemically doomed society, and then made to relinquish any progressive opportunities they have forged into the snatching hands of Millennials, Gen X were forgotten before they had the chance to be remembered. Now they’re entering into a phase of their life that is medically underresearched and societally completely invisible. Feels quite damning, doesn’t it? Not if Burch can help it. There aren’t too many gags in this routine, but the laughs come anyway as do the cheers as Burch imparts an important message in an unforgettable way.
Desiree Burch: The Golden Wrath, Monkey Barrel (MB3), run ended; touring the UK this winter, including The Stand, Glasgow, 4 Mar and Monkey Barrel, Edinburgh, 14 Mar