Lara Ricote @ Monkey Barrel
INKLING is a intriguing, intelligent new hour from Best Newcomer winner Lara Ricote
Lara Ricote has an inkling, but getting to the bottom of it is our job. Weaving strands about her recent break-up with an incident in a museum and wider commentary about being hard of hearing, Ricote also frames INKLING around three maxims which have recently come into her world. Manifesting them into existence, her rules guide the story she builds in front of an intrigued crowd.
What could be a complicated or obtuse framing device is neatly explained without lingering too long on exposition, even as she hops between timelines and strands of her story, represented by three distinct mics and lighting states.
INKLING manages to balance really smart storytelling and ‘big picture’ comedy with some glorious stupidity. Sure, the confessional material about writing an apology with chalk in the rain and having eyes for another man with a hearing impairment is excellent, but who doesn’t also want to watch the Best Newcomer winner strut down an imaginary New York street, row an imaginary boat to the tune of Suzanne Vega’s earworm Tom’s Diner, or try to drink water properly? With INKLING, Ricote proves you can have it all!
In addition, the show offers a refreshing look at disability and impairment – from rejecting accessibility options, to finding kinship with other hard of hearing people, to her sister’s embarrassment at an ear piercing appointment, and with built-in BSL interpretation and faulty microphones [both in this specific performance], INKLING immerses its audience in Ricote’s reality.
Put simply, this is a break-up show, but it’s a much more intelligent, meaningful hour of comedy than straightforward heartache. Introspective, accomplished and much more, Ricote has dreamt up a gem of a show.
Lara Ricote: INKLING, Monkey Barrel Comedy (MB3), until 30 Aug (not 17), 5.40pm, £14.50; BSL signed performances on 18 & 22 Aug, captioned performance on 14 Aug