1. You’ll learn so much! Think of She Wolf as a profanity laden Ted Talk, done in character with interjections of Shakespearean monologues. Youâll laugh, youâll learn heaps!
2. I’m an Australian Permanent Resident, but I still have that foreign Canadian accent. Missing the internationals this festival? I got ya covered!
3. If you love Shakespeare, you’ll enjoy this new look at his historical works in a modern context.
4. If you hate Shakespeare, you’ll enjoy this ruthless take down of centuries old propaganda.
5. It just won a 2021 Weekly Best Comedy Award at the Adelaide Fringe. It’s certified fresh and funny!
Gillian English is a self-described Canadian immigrant living in Tasmania. Her offering for this yearâs Melbourne Fringe Festival traces her journey from small-town Nova Scotia to the suburbs of Hobart, and the role a clairvoyant-to-the-stars played in the journey.
In a dynamite 55 minutes, English explores the role of fate in our lives â however you choose to hear about it â through clairvoyance, astrology, religion, fairy tales and folklore, or through the predictions of friends and family. She explores the notions of destiny and self-fulfilling prophecy, and how we choose to respond to (or reject) what the universe has in store for us.
Most importantly, this is laugh out loud stuff.
English is first and foremost an amazingly accomplished story teller. She has a breathtaking, rapid fire style that is in equal parts exhilarating and exhausting. If you want to see a display of the mastery of the half beat pause for comic effect, here it is.
Itâs a very âlook at meâ style of comedy (is that the Sagittarius or the Gemini side winning?). Itâs brash, confident, high energy and relentless. And the silver sparkly outfit immediately lets you know where your focus needs to be.
The narrative of her verbal tour of her journey to Tasmania, and her search for whatâs been promised to her, has been finely crafted and honed. She is able to create amazingly clear mental images of the people who are on the journey with her â including her mum, her friends, her housemates and her partner.
What does the title of the show mean? Well, youâll just have to go along and find out. Itâs a show that deserves a bigger audience than Tuesday night at the Fringe was able to attract!
Gillian English â Youâre A Good Man Doctor Pirate is playing Sept 24 – 27 at Coopers Inn t 8:40pm.
Itâs not long now until the worldâs largest fringe arts festival begins in warmer climes and again a massive contingent of Australians and expats are headed to The Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Many have traveled the Australian festival circuit and have been whipped into shape for international audiences. Some have been previously reviewed by Squirrel but remember they will have been further polished and may have been revised and reworked.
Hannah Gadsby
Last year Australian, Hannah Gadsby won Best Comedy at the Fringe, she’s had to cancel her Edinburgh Fringe run this year but there’s a lot more amazing comedy talent coming up from down under. If you are travelling anywhere near Edinburgh this August, have a look at the following list of shows and consider going to see an Australian act.
Most of us have a shitty romance or breakup story, and Gillian English has put hers into lists for us. She is questioning why she has on several occasions been called a âBitter Shrewâ. She goes about this by loudly naming and shaming men whoâve behaved badly towards her and while trying to shift blame fails somewhat to prove her point but is entertaining none the less.
This is an autobiographical festival show made up of the stories of Gillianâs life that all relate to sex. This is not about love, though it does get the odd look in, it is about sex. Gillian is fierce and fearless. She is not shy of sharing intimate details of her varied sex life as she describes losing her virtue, one night stands and Buzzfeed-style lists the 5 worst ways a man has dumped her and more briefly her worst Tinder experiences. Things get fairly graphic as seems to be the current fashion in comedy but Gillian manages to carry it off with her larger than life personality and her ability to keep the laughs flowing throughout.
Gillian clearly has a lot of stage experience, sheâs brimming with confidence as an entertaining storyteller and has a good rhythm and tone to her voice. At times, I could sense some influence from Samantha Bee when she got on the feminist pep talk podium. Not a bad influence to have as a strong feminist comedian. There is one hint of vulnerability when she admits briefly she doesnât feel traditionally pretty and there are some times when she shows some negative sides to her personality like putting a stage costume ahead of the life of a man she loves who is having a heart attack which she recognises is a really low act and something sheâd not do again. But she loses the audienceâs sympathy somewhat as she fails to look deeply in the mirror or even to explore what the term Bitter Shrew means and whether, even comedically there might be a kernel of truth.
Gillian English is a Bitter Shrew could be a great girls night out, especially if you are in the mood to share a girl power vibe and hear about how annoying men can be in the world of romance; wellâŠhook-ups, one night stands and potential relationships. There are certainly a lot of laughs here, but in a Festival brimming with autobiographical shows this one is a bit like her one night stands, fun and interesting at the time, but not one that will live with you in the long term.
Gillian English is a Bitter Shrew is on at The Imperial Hotel until April 23
