Fern Brady @ The Stand

In this hour of quick-witted, acerbic stand-up from someone who could soon to be a household name, Fern Brady has two main agendas: a) to stop being mistaken for a man, and b) to finally be invited to the female comedian’s annual fringe brunch. 

Male Comedienne is tough-talking and packed with don’t-give-a-shit honesty. It finds the right balance between sincerity and side-splitting anecdotes. Being a stripper, homeless and sectioned is not something anyone should take lightly, and when put into the context of her upbringing, where the facts of life are explained via a fib about a friend's gammy leg, allows this show a certain depth on how we miscommunicate with each other – men and women, parents and children. If we have no idea for normal, how are we to know when a teenage holiday snog takes something of a bizarre encore? Yet, despite the hard-hitting themes, Brady makes it all as light as a soufflé. For all she'd like to be able to cry and give Male Comedienne an award-baiting conclusion, for the first time this Fringe, I was crying with laughter.