Review from the Suffolk festival

Was becoming a political comedian ever part of Rachel Parris’s plan? The musical comedian found herself in the satirical realm thanks to Late Night Mash and its BBC predecessor – even though she’s always been more whimsical than polemical. 

Indeed, it was the contrast between her understated, cheery sarcasm and Nish Kumar’s ranting that initially gave the show its appeal – although she made the presenter’s job her own when taking over for the final series.

Her Latitude set fell between the politics and the personal, and occasionally lost focus altogether. Pondering her own morality on the back of Rishi Sunak having an ethics adviser became particularly waffly as she ended up just chatting about how fellow comics such as Aisling Bea and Sara Pascoe keep her fast fashion impulses in check, with no apparent punchline on the horizon.

She was stronger on her home life, boasting how she had got motherhood nailed (spoiler alert: she hasn’t) and revealing how her commitment to her child’s upbringing was very dependent on how tired she felt. As always, the irony levels are high.

It’s similarly safe to assume that her assertion that Nadine Dorries is a feminist icon and personal heroine ought to be taken with a lorryload of salt. Liz Truss gets it, too, with a lovely Elton John-inspired musical number, Iceberg In The Wind. And it ought to be amusing, since it cost the nation £30billion. 

Parris remains at her best behind the keyboard. Another song is emphatically Not About Brexit – really, can we not take anything this woman says at face value?! – while her well-observed Gen Zed On A Train is a witty commentary on generational differences. It’s a rewrite of her best-known song Hen Do On A Train – although a straw poll of the comedy arena revealed very few people were aware of the original, not that it mattered.

And finally, a sojourn into another of her unexpected career detours as she was joined on stage by husband Marcus Brigstocke, in the guise of Jeremy Vine. The spot-on impression became a lockdown hit, with Parris acting as the callers to his Radio 2 show – and here she was Margaret from Cornwall, praising the voters of Uxbridge and South Ruislip for returning a Tory MP in Thursday’s by-election. More doublespeak!
 

Review date: 22 Jul 2023
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Reviewed at: Latitude