Of course I have a secret

The latest in an occasional series of theatre reviews...

Kate : Soho Theatre

My sister worked for Soho Theatre before it was even up and running and I went to a few things back in the day but I haven't been in many a long year, so I was looking forward to revisiting it.  I also fancied seeing this show after having read an interview with Kate Berlant in The Guardian which said that the show was initially directed by Bo Burnham, who is a man with quite some talent with a comedy show.

We start the evening climbing the stairs to the theatre decorated with a load of life(ish) size pictures of Kate - I get the feeling we're not in for an evening in the company of a shrinking violet (how unusual for a comedian, eh?).  And when I go in to take my seat - well, you should see what they've done with the decor!

Yes, it's still a black box - it's not exactly aesthetic, but it is practical.  The screen displays various vignettes of Kate doing silly things, until five minutes beforehand when it starts giving us a silly countdown - it's amusing enough, but the audience greet it as the funniest thing ever.  And when she comes on stage, you definitely get the impression she's not going to have to work to win them over with her show.

And it's quite a clever show which is ostensibly about her lifelong quest for stardom in the theatre, but it touches on many things - and is, for the most part, utter nonsense.  It's very watchable, well acted, technically clever and often funny nonsense - although it's maybe not quite as clever as it thinks it is and it has a somewhat peculiar ending, which I didn't quite feel fitted with what came before.  But I accept these things don't always hit the spot and it's often as interesting to watch things miss the mark - I generally find a comedy show sticks with me longer than a stand-up routine and whilst I don't think this is an absolutely top-notch example, it was certainly an enjoyable evening.

What it most definitely wasn't, however, was as hilarious as a large part of the audience thought it was - I generally go into these things with an open mind wanting to be entertained and I hate those who demand to be won over, but for me there were far too many people here desperate to laugh at anything.  At times, it was almost as though Kate herself was thinking "what are you guys on?" - in case you can't tell, I found it all rather annoying.

For those who haven't been to Soho Theatre before, it's an interesting venue.  There's the main theatre (which I was in) and also an upstairs and downstairs space and last night there were two shows on in each area, so there was quite the throughput - fortunately there's a very acceptable bar in which people can wait.  They also have some very good acts there - it's quite a common testing arena for works in progress, so it's always worth keeping an eye on their listings, which I'm now signed up so I will now do so!

So I'm glad I went back there and I'm glad I went to see Kate because she was an engagingly silly performer in a well put-together show - yes, it didn't always work but it certainly hit more than it missed.  She's on until the end of the month and there are still tickets available - it's not a 100% must see, but it's worth a look imho.

Mr Swallow - A fun evening out
The Effect - Good but not great