Luisa Omielan: What Would Beyonce Do?

Review by Bernard O'Leary | 15 Aug 2012

Omielan first found herself wondering what Beyoncé would do when she was unclogging a toilet using a stick. Would the ultimate pop diva ever use a stick to break up poo? How would Beyoncé deal with getting dumped, being unemployed and having to move back in with her mum? And so Omielan, a woman so disconnected from the broader world that she's only just discovered who Margaret Thatcher is, tries to piece together a new philosophy based on Beyoncé lyrics.

This is a show performed with the speed and intensity of a meteorite crashing to earth. As well as her frenetic singing and dancing, Omielan talks so quickly that she may have invented a whole new genre: prose freestylin'. The material is great too: her take on relationships is remarkably fresh, there are lovely surreal touches about Polish vaginas and Jewish cows, and incredibly she manages to touch on suicide and depression without spoling the party vibe. This really is a party, but there's a fascinating subtext running through it that touches on the despair and pointlessness of the X Factor generation.

Standup purists may be appalled at the way she sometimes uses her energy to achieve what would normally be done with writing. But this is what the Fringe is all about: stumbling into a room above a pub and watching a raw, natural talent doing something surprising and clever and hugely enjoyable, and knowing that you've just witnessed a star being born.

Luisa Omielan: What Would Beyonce Do?, The Meadows Bar, until 26 August, 22:45, Free http://www.edfringe.com/whats-on/comedy/what-would-beyonce-do-free