Edinburgh Fringe comedy review

Hannah Pilkes is not afraid of creating an awkward energy on stage – in fact, she positively revels in it. 

A Woman On The Verge is a show that never, officially, quite gets started, since she has agreed to so many other commitments which she has to get out of the way first, if the audience will indulge her. We, like her, are unable to say ‘no’.  

Such procrastinating is how we are introduced to her characters and the skits which foreground different aspects of her personality – all of which she presents with a lively mix of clowning and audience participation that further disrupts the smooth flow of the hour.

After crashing in late, Pilkes quickly excuses herself to go to her intermediate hip-hop dance class, whose impossible choreography is too advanced for her skills and drives her to the brink of a breakdown. What starts as silly physical comedy as she strikes oddly-named poses ends in sad pathos, with the American comedian a broken woman.

Next up comes her clairvoyant, Chancy Bricabrac, something of an over-sharer who interacts with audience members via a puppet sidekick. That awkwardness rises up again, and there are plenty of nervous chuckles as the ‘volunteers’ are unsure how to react – or laughter of relief from those of us not chosen.

In a phone call with her wedding planner, she makes outrageously exacting – and surreal – demands for her big day, such as ‘champagne flutes that are also real flutes’, and others much more absurd. This scene shows Pilkes is capable of more precise writing and performance compared to the controlled chaos of much of the hour. 

She has an expressive face and exaggerated physicality that she puts to fine use in her version of a schlocky horror film featuring a ‘hot single mom’; while the booze-loving lad, desperate for human connection as he leads a microbrewery tour, feels very real. That’s not always the case with some of Pilkes’ more exaggerated creations. 

This latter sketch segues into a first date staged between two punters, forced to make stilted conversation, until Pilkes retakes the reins for more nonsense. 

A Woman On The Verge ends with the message that out of chaos can come creativity, as she embraces her hyperactive brain and tendency to throw herself into too many things. 

The result is certainly a fizzing ball of ideas. This might share a lot of stylistic overlap with other clowny-comedy shows at the Fringe, but Pilkes also has a bonkers skew-whiff energy all of her own. Could it be a breakthrough that this woman is on the verge of?

• Hannah Pilkes: A Woman On The Verge is on at Underbelly Bristo Square at 7.15pm

Review date: 22 Aug 2022
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Reviewed at: Underbelly George Square