Mace and Burton: Heartbreak Hotel

As anyone will tell you, relationships are hard. Lizzie Mace & Juliette Burton are thankfully here to help. Their “Heartbreak Hotel” is a place of respite (in some cases rehabilitation) from the ups & downs of love & heartache where all are welcomed with slightly manic smiles, encouraged to open up about their life and loves and, if they’re VERY lucky, receive a sought-after Mace & Burton hug.

The show takes the form of a confessional chat show, with your genial hosts encouraging other comedians from the Fringe to sit down and talk about their heartbreak openly amongst friends. As a result, the comedy doesn’t exactly flow thick and fast – if you’re after an edgy quick-fire jokefest then perhaps look elsewhere. However, there’s a genuine warmth here present in very few shows. Structurally the show works well, with a gentle level of audience participation in the form of hotel “activities” which manage to be inclusive and fun without feeling forced or manipulative.

Guests change daily, as do the stories - this particular night Lucy Cox performed a brilliantly cathartic song about an ex-boyfriend with, ahem, interesting habits – and Mace & Burton are wonderfully endearing & sweet while not being averse to a rude one-liner. Go have your heart warmed.