Gig review from the Eventim Apollo, Hammersmith

The sound equipment takes quite a battering when Iliza Shlesinger’s on stage. The straight-shooting American loves the flourish of dropping the mic as a theatrical exclamation point on the end of several vividly acted-out routines.

She enjoys a more metaphorical mic drop, too, releasing a small arsenal of truth grenades to underscore her points. In her current Back In Action tour, these are all linked to some extent to self-esteem, especially the scrutiny the female body is under from a young age, forever making women feel bad about how they look and function.

She’s not entirely above a few jabs herself, likening imaginary ugly women to armadillos and admitting to getting an ego boost when she measures herself against them. That latter admission comes not so much as being mean-spirited, though, but a confession of the unwelcome truth that women’s self-worth constantly rises and falls by such comparisons. She conjures up the image of the ‘gross fairy’, an obnoxious sprite hovering over the head of every woman, chipping away at their self-confidence with cruel comments about their appearance.

Her own body has undergone some major changes of late, too. She takes to Eventim Apollo stage heavily pregnant and launches into blisteringly funny and mischievously inappropriate routine about how the whole process could be shortened. She – or her gross fairy – thinks the baby bump gives her the appearance of Dr Seuss’s Grinch, which she hilariously acts out. That’s just one of many physical routines that demonstrate her prowess as a visual comedian, embodying the likes of a baby giraffe, a curious gorilla… or a sentient bra.

Indeed, there’s a hefty chunk on undergarments here, entirely in keeping the show’s tone of being hilariously, relatably, self-effacing while more deeply questioning the psychology that makes women feel so defensive.

Social media doesn’t help, and Shlesinger has a strong routine on TikTok and its rise in lockdown as people sought connections wherever they can find them. Again, exaggerated comical act-outs of the supposedly sexy dancing on virtual videos is underpinned by a more serious point about the commodification of mental health.

Speaking of social media, the way a rather performative version of feminism plays out online also gets her goat: women feeling they have to play by ‘pink rules’ and express every female achievement in terms of a sassy triumph for womankind. You wouldn’t get that sort of gendered encouragement for men, and Shlesinger makes no bones about the fact she wants to be seen as a success on her own terms.

She’s surely already achieved that, with five stand-up specials and the recent romcom Good On Paper all on Netflix by the age of 38. Back In Action will only burnish that reputation, with its skilful combination of a sharp worldview with embarrassing stories anyone can connect to – all conveyed with a winning dynamism.

• Iliza Shlesinger: Back In Action is back at the Eventim Apollo, Hammersmith tonight, before resuming in the US from Friday.

Review date: 3 Nov 2021
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Reviewed at: Eventim Apollo