Joanna Neary 2007 Fringe Review

Ever since her Fringe debut and Best Newcomer nomination in 2004, Joanna Neary has competently spearheaded her campaign to revive the art of character comedy. Returning to Edinburgh in 2007 with more charming anecdotes and a few new sketches thrown in, the ever-so-polite comic continues to win over audiences with a beaming smile and a few nervous giggles.

Although in many ways Neary’s characters are formulaic, the standard of her performance is often spectacular: Chris, the swinger who does it outside, spits gruffly at the front row just seconds before a well-heeled country lady glides dreamily around her imaginary domain. Letting down the set somewhat are Neary’s tales of life as an 80’s teenager, which could easily have been ripped from the script of any post-American Pie teen satire. Add to this some quite bizarre, Pierrot-inspired interpretive dance and the audience often feels left behind.

There is a distinctly feminine air to the whole performance and the pitch of laughter is noticeably higher than at your average comedy gig. But there are moments of united hilarity and, as a shaky technophobe tries desperately to explain the relative merits of various exotic adult toys, those periods of staring aimlessly into space are swiftly forgotten.