Rachel Fairburn @ Just the Tonic, Community Project
An hour of sardonic wit from one half of the All Killa No Filla podcast duo
Her Majesty tells the tale of the fantastic women in Rachel Fairburn’s life and how she’s trying (and sometimes failing) to be one. She also discusses living with OCD and her interesting male role models. If other comics confessed their love for Barry Manilow, it’d be a little odd, but Fairburn’s straight-talking ways make this obsession brilliantly incongruous. Her attention, too, turns to other aspects of mental health; a conversation which makes a change coming from a working-class perspective.
At time it is not quite as gag-heavy as some of her peers and the jokes do not catch you quite as off-guard as you might like. But Her Majesty is a great insight into the comic’s upbringing and particularly the relationship with her grandparents. Fairburn’s no-nonsense delivery and expressions of dislike bring this hour alive with punchy charm.