Maisie Adam @ Gilded Balloon Teviot

Tightly crafted sophomore show from So You Think You're Funny Winner Maisie Adam

Review by James McColl | 13 Aug 2019
  • Maisie Adam

Not one to obsess over things, Maisie Adam still hasn’t got over not being cast as Mary in her school play – “Who here played Mary?”, “Where are all the Marys now?” Adam mockingly asks; these child stars all but forgotten. Her second show Hang Fire promises to continue her conversational approach to stand-up, and Adam has a personable and disarming presence which lends itself to this style. Her long routines about growing up in the noughties paint a typical, if not familiar picture on middle-class Britain. Adam makes the point that her Yorkshire accent is not a sign of being working-class, just your own assumptions. 

Behind Adam is a washing line with white pictures hung up. Throughout the show, she reveals these to be mug shots of celebrities who were at one time or another, arrested for unusual crimes. At the time, each of these crimes caused a moral outrage from the public but were all eventually forgiven. 

A natural storyteller, Adam has the audience gripped from the start. She preaches forgiveness in the face of split second mistakes – much like those which befell the celebrities. Drawing upon her own experiences, the time Adam threw a house party is one such mistake. Her parents weren't best pleased when they found out about the party, though they are very supportive of the stand-up. Travelling across Europe at a young age for a Rolling Stones gig (Mick Jagger, the first of the mug shots and idol of the Adam family), Adam has plenty of surprises for an unexpecting audience. Her delivery is crisp, pointed and unrelenting, and her adolescent life would seem tragic if not told in such a funny way.  

After only a relatively short career in stand-up, Adam is showing why she belongs on stage. Hang Fire is a tightly crafted hour that chronicles personal pitfalls, delivering big laughs and serious revelations.


Maisie Adam: Hang FireGilded Balloon Teviot (Billiard Room), until 26 Aug, 5pm, £9.50-11.50