Janey Godley - Tell It Like It Is!

 

Janey Godley is tired of being labelled by reviewers as "too Scottish." So, this year, the Glaswegian comic has stopped trying to outrun her critics. Instead, she's embraced her Scottish roots, moulding her set around a series of anecdotes spanning from her childhood on a Glasgow council estate to the city's recent terrorist attacks.

The result incurs mixed emotions: on one hand, the obviousness of some of Godley's gags is underwhelming. On the other, her brutal honesty can be genuinely heart warming. Godley has just turned 46 – the same age her mother was when she was murdered – and her repertoire draws on some of her most personal experiences, including child abuse, heroin addiction and her brother's cancer. But more than anything, her show revolves around "ordinary Glaswegians," her friends and family who, true to the title of Godley's show, 'tell it like it is.'

Godley's stories are engaging, but they're more interesting than actually funny. Considering the potency of her material, her delivery has the potential to be much sharper; in fact, the existing moments of dark humour seem to wash right over the predominantly middle-aged crowd. However, as one of the Fringe's most regular and reliable comedians, Godley's brand of anecdotal humour is always solid, if not truly innovative, and her reliance on comedy as a form of therapy is appealing. Moreover, her easy and affable ability to embrace the audience as her "family" for a night is a touch that's sure to please her existing fans, and may well win her some new ones along the way.