Maureen Younger – Original Review
Note: This review is from 2007
Review by Steve Bennett
It seems churlish to criticise a comic for being self-absorbed since it virtually comes with the territory – but there’s something about Maureen Younger’s obsession with how she’s perceived that an audience might struggle to connect withSo what if she’s carrying enough extra pounds to be able to feign pregnancy? So what if people think she’s been around the block a few times? Such concerns may offer the chance for a self-deprecatory jibe or two, but it’s too immaterial to hang a whole set on. Do we really care?
What this relative newcomer has got down to pat, however, is her delivery. She’s picked up the rhythms and cadence that many stand-ups share, so the audience feel reassured they’re in safe hands. But it rather feels like a tone of voice she’s learned, either unconsciously by exposure to other comics, or from a tutor. Then again, she is an actress, so is attuned to picking these things up.
She structures her strident set around callbacks, rather than letting them emerge naturally as bonus laughs from inherently funny material, and a routine about dating younger men takes an age to get to the inevitable pay-off about borderline illegality.
Younger has enough stagecraft and confidence to survive, but she’s neither exciting nor challenging.
Review date: 28 Sep 2007
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
