Review by Steve Bennett

Alan Partridge casts a long shadow. The Fringe only officially began yesterday, and already several acts have invited comparison, unwittingly or not, with Steve Coogan’s finest.

Eleanor Thom’s Bev is one of them, thanks to her over-eagerness to impress a BBC boss and her acute lack of self-awareness. Quite why this Sheffield lass thinks she’s lined up for a plum broadcasting job is never properly explained (not that it especially matters), as she appears somewhere between a self-appointed tour guide and childless ‘full-time partner’ to her lifelong sweetheart, Richard.

When Bev steps out from the curtain with platinum-blonde hair, leopard-print leggings and neon-pink vest top, the scene is set for a brash, crass woman whose lack of taste we can all mock.

Yet Thom, a former member of the Lady Garden sketch group, is better than that, and her creation is more subtle, and believable, than you might expect. She’s an optimist, excited by the possibility of a better life, certainly, but while she might have convinced herself that her dream of being the next Miranda Hart or Tess Daly could be a reality, in fact she’s broadly content with her lot.

She has a great line in accidental asides, pat sayings she might sign as a postscript after telling us a little about her suburban life, which Thom infuses with meaning. We learn so much about Bev just from the way she insists: ‘...no, seriously.’

The humour is nicely downplayed, but still present in the script as much as it is the persona, often coming from the gap between what she’s saying and what it actually reveals about her. But she’s not above something more direct, like a perfectly-judged double entendre, which is give extra impact for its rarity.

Nevertheless, there’s a feeling Thom doesn’t know quite what to do with her perfectly-rounded character now she’s created her. This reputed hour-long show runs just under 45 minutes, and there’s still some filler, like passing out Tunnock’s teacakes or doing anti-deep-vein-thrombosis exercises... so any longer would seem a serious stretch.

Yet this solo debut marks Thom out as a comic actress able to create an inhabit a credible persona for an extended time. Bev might not get her big TV break from this showcase, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Thom winning more supporting roles on the box.

Review date: 5 Aug 2013
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett