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Credit: Rebecca-Bruce

Botheration, Hen & Chickens Theatre – Review

Pros: A fun hour of classic stand up comedy, in a quirky venue and with some moments of real excellence.

Cons: The show is not always at the same quality standard and sometimes slows down a bit.

Pros: A fun hour of classic stand up comedy, in a quirky venue and with some moments of real excellence. Cons: The show is not always at the same quality standard and sometimes slows down a bit. The Camden Fringe Festival is quickly developing into a showcase of serious homegrown talents, and this show at the Hen & Chickens theatre opposite Highbury and Islington underground station is no exception. Dan Green, Andrew West and Stephanie Peart are “The Bearded Women”. Admittedly, there’s not much feminine about Dan and Andrew, but I guess this is the point. Live at the Apollo…

Summary

rating

Good

An overall enjoyable line-up with great potential, a good mix of physical and intellectual comedy that can sometimes slow down a bit but remains fun nevertheless.

The Camden Fringe Festival is quickly developing into a showcase of serious homegrown talents, and this show at the Hen & Chickens theatre opposite Highbury and Islington underground station is no exception.

Dan Green, Andrew West and Stephanie Peart are “The Bearded Women”. Admittedly, there’s not much feminine about Dan and Andrew, but I guess this is the point. Live at the Apollo in the upstairs at Hen & Chickens? Not quite, but the talent is definitely there and the hour-long show was definitely entertaining and lots of fun.

Dan’s piece was personal favourite for the tempo and ability to instantly capture the audience’s mood. His best jokes seemed to have come out from the spur of the moment: a physical, gestural piece that was thoroughly well performed. Andrew took the second part. His piece was the more intellectual of the three and was definitely a good performance, even though his pace and engagement could probably improve in the future. It was a routine playing on the many ways a surname can shape your life. Steph takes the third and final part of the line-up. She is definitely the ultimate bearded woman, tall and long legged, it would be funny to watch, if she had kept the fake beard on longer than a minute, that is! Her piece was funny and well performed, playing on stereotypes of the Cornish variety.

Overall, this was a fun and enjoyable hour of comedy. With a bit more pace at times, and a bit more variety perhaps, the bearded women can go a long way. I look forward to seeing what this trio come up with in future.

Written by: Dan Green, Andrew West and Stephanie Peart
Produced by: The Bearded Women
Booking link: https://cam.tickets.red61.com/performances.php?eventId=3113:284
Booking until: The show has now finished its run.

About Don Calogero

Forensic Psychiatrist. Having left sunny Sicily for London in 2000 to pursue his career, and having done way too much studying since, Don has long realised that life is all about pretending to be someone you really aren’t. In his various reincarnations he is a traveller, a photographer, a cook and an expert in violent offending behaviour. Now he thinks that just because he did a few years acting Sicilian Comedies with friends and passionately likes going to plays in London, he can also be a theatre reviewer. Yeah, right!

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