Edinburgh Fringe comedy review

Scheduling this at 2pm was always going to be a mistake. As the title clearly indicates, Ew Girl You Nasty is an hour of depraved and dirty stories from a woman who’s lived quite the life.

Katharyn Henson shares her exploits, from her ‘rancid pussy’ to taking crystal meth to working in a New York sex dungeon (where she did the admin!) with a disarming pragmatism. Her directness and lack of regret are effective weapons, and while male comics who work in this territory tend to do so with a big dick energy, she does it with a surprising stillness.

Although she treats her stories as prosaic, she knows they are not received that way and plays around with the discomfort some audience members feel. She dares you to be disgusted, then shrugs it off with a ‘that’s my life’ attitude.

Nonetheless, Ew Girl suffers the same diminishing returns that many gross-out shows do, that once audiences are taken to lows, they start to become inured to further degradation. And lines offering variations on ‘I never knew my dad, what do you expect of me?’ come a bit repetitive. 

Away from first-hand stories, she jokes about sport keeping sex attackers off the street, demonstrating some ability to expand her repertoire beyond the personal anecdotes which are the cornerstones of this full-length debut.

Ew Girl... shows Henson to be a confident, appealing presence with a backstory that makes her unique and interesting, whatever other directions she may take her comedy in.

• Ew Girl, You Nasty is at Laughing Horse @ The Counting House at 2pm until August 25, with extra shows at 6.30pm on Monday and Tuesday.

Review date: 22 Aug 2021
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Reviewed at: Laughing Horse @ The Counting House