Brilliantly toes the line between being relatable, but not overdone
In her debut stand-up hour A Bite of Yours, Canadian comic Zoe Brownstone delivers punchline after punchline with the smoothness of a Fringe veteran. Whether its recounting how the news of her parent’s divorce was delivered to her, or touching on the tragic end of her last relationship, Brownstone brilliantly toes the line between being relatable, but not overdone.
There is a real heartfelt core to the piece – Brownstone is no longer the ingenue she dreamed she’d be (as she says, ‘the ingenue does not do stand-up comedy’) – and that sort of life experience comes with baggage. As she recounts her messiest breakup, which ended in deportation from the Netherlands and a rushed move to the UK, she lets the seriousness of what happened to her come through her jokes in a natural way. And she is not just an expert at comedy and tragedy – her political commentary is extremely sharp, without being self-serving. Indeed, being able to propose the enshrinement of Jewish sex positions into our vernacular to a room of strangers is no easy feat, but Brownstone’s stellar timing and natural charm pulls it off.
Brownstone’s energy and physicality, as well as her snappy crowd work, makes the dungeon-like venue of her show feel warm and inviting. Here’s hoping she’s back next Fringe with even more lessons – and, if we’re lucky, more proposed sex positions.
https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/zoe-brownstone-a-bite-of-yours