Edinburgh Fringe comedy review

Erika Ehler has taken a step up in her sophomore show, clearing the thicket of the introductory material and further developing her cynical, bone-dry lens. 

She practices the kind of faintly evil comedy typically reserved for older white male comedians, so it’s great to hear that tone brought to bear on the life experiences of a young mixed-race woman.

The ostensible narrative here concerns two unnamed friends of Ehler’s with whom she’s no longer on speaking terms. But this story is by far the weakest aspect of the show: neither the characters nor the transgression itself are given enough development to make them meaningful, and there’s not much memorable comedy associated with these sections either, to the extent that you can feel Ehler toggling between her narrative and her much stronger non-narrative material.

The rest of the hour contains a few real humdingers, though. In the mad dad stakes, she’s been blessed with an all-time great: a German redneck who drowns raccoons in a barrel and is addicted to buying used Honda Civics. This is probably the most enjoyable material of the lot – she lights up with a certain small joy when she talks about him that you don’t see for the rest of the show, mired in cynicism as it is. 

On dating, she has a welcome bite, happy to discuss the more complicated end of roleplay and fantasy but also withering about the people she’s had sex with: ‘He described himself as being like Tony Soprano, but then he also did Harry Potter improv.’ 

Continuing the theme of sex and violence, she talks about undergoing active shooter lockdowns at her high school in Canada, describing them as ‘kinda sensual.’

Issues with the narrative aside, this is a strong collection of material generated from a perspective of appealing sourness. It’s good to see her making strides and developing her voice.

Review date: 25 Aug 2024
Reviewed by: Tim Harding
Reviewed at: Monkey Barrel Comedy (The Hive)