Review by Steve Bennett

After supporting hubby Russell Kane in several of his successful Edinburgh shows, Sadie Hasler’s debut belongs to that genre, especially prevalent among female performers with acting backgrounds, which feels more like a live showreel for passing casting agents than a convincing statement of what distinctive comedy path she hopes to follow.

What sets Lady Bones slightly apart from the crowd of other well-presented showcases, however, is a keen ear for the well-turned comic phrase; ensuring a decent showing of quirky, laugh-out-loud lines in the brisk 45 minutes. But it’s not quite enough to compensate for too simply drawn characters.

Always be wary, especially, of creations who speak in dodgy East European accents, as her opening librarian character Kek does. Broken English is a sure sign that the material needs the prop of twisted syntax to get a laugh – see also the countless male stand-ups who Yoda impressions they do.

Elsewhere, we have the plummy-voiced, super-posh Bunty; a proto-slapper with no ambitions beyond flashing her fanny at film premieres; and a chavvy teenage mum. So no envelopes are being pushed terms of characterisation, although her take on the Katherine Hepburn’s steely sexuality and Sylvia Plath’s depression are a bit more imaginative.

Mostly the script reads like a sex-obsessed Joyce Grenfell, with Hasler more often than not addressing an unseen audience on matters below the belt. This is where some of the more memorable expressions are coined, with Hasler able to conjure up indelible comic images of depravity.

In fact, the writing is frequently stronger than the characters. From the well-chosen metaphor to the vividly pithy one-liner, a stronger vein of wit than you might expect runs through the monologues. If only such lines came out the mouths of a more interesting cast.

Review date: 2 Apr 2010
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett