Micky Overman @ Pleasance Courtyard

Micky Overman's promising if hit-and-miss debut has you rooting for the villain

Review by Ben Venables | 07 Aug 2018

It's hard to read Micky Overman's intentions in her debut hour Role Model. Periodically she's playful with a few stand-up conventions. It gives the show an occasional stop-start feel or even makes things momentarily confusing – not because she doesn't deploy these subtle flourishes well, but that they seem an odd fit with an otherwise down-to-earth, confessional debut about the peculiar situations that arise when sticking with a relationship. Relationships in which both parties know the romance has had its time and situations from sharing a bed with an ex, because it's easier than getting shot of the rental contract, or following another – and his likeable new girlfriend – across continents. 

Overman is a master of what's known sometimes as the 'geographic'. She runs away from the wolf of not wanting to disappoint her parents by literally going to another place. But she then runs into the bear of a more complicated problem. The scenery might be different in Canada than it was in Amsterdam, but you'll soon find you're stuck with yourself. She offers a lot of insight into these kind of rationalisations, the ones that keep us going everyday but sometimes veer us off course, however far into another country this takes us. On the illusion of personal progress Overman is especially wise, and also about the role model of her title – which sees her actually grow up and see her favourite film from the point of view of the supposed antagonist. There's maturity to her comedy and it's just a shame the show feels like it hasn't quite smoothed out, like it's still in development, to really get her humour across. 


Micky Overman: Role Model, Pleasance Courtyard (Bunker Two), 1-26 Aug (not 13), 10.30pm, £6-10

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