Lara Ricote @ Monkey Barrel

Lara Ricote is a ball of energy that manages to brighten even the dark and sticky room that is The Hive nightclub. But don’t let that fool you into thinking she’s all sweetness and light: Ricote has a wicked dark streak that often befits the room she’s performing in.

GRL/LATNX/DEF is her ‘minority show’, Ricote tells us (not without irony). Over the course of an hour, she welcomes her audience enthusiastically into her life as a minority. Ricote is hard of hearing, with degenerative deafness (though, she shares somewhat darkly, there are perks to this – namely, getting to use Bluetooth hearing aids). There’s some great material around her family in this section as she talks about her two other sisters – one is also deaf and gorgeous, she says, the other stupid.

We also get to know Ricote the ‘GRL’. She moves into material relatable for any woman in their early-to mid-20s who might find the label ‘girl’ slipping away from them before they’re quite ready. Stories about hooking up in Thailand after being a slightly late sexual bloomer and a song about kidney theft betray any façade of innocence she may have carried off until now. Ricote moves on to her ‘LATNX’ identity lastly, sharing her experiences as a Mexican woman in Europe. As if all this weren’t enough, Ricote’s passion for climate justice plays a subtle role in the show, with fun little metaphors for climate change and a parallel-universe-alter-ego climate activist character added into the mix.

If it sounds like a muddle of concepts, that’s because it is, but it only adds to the charm that Ricote has over her audience. Goofy yet sincere, and at the same time drawing big laughs out of an often unsuspecting audience, Ricote has a unique offering. And it feels like it’s only a matter of time before she hits it big.

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Lara Ricote: GRL/LATNX/DEF, Monkey Barrel @ The Hive (Hive 2), until 28 Aug (not 17), 3.20pm, £7-10; Pleasance Courtyard (Beside), 26 Aug, 8.45pm, £10