By Ron Bingham
As we file into our seats, Alice is sitting on the stage chatting to audience members and being very sociable. It certainly gives a captivating first impression of the comedian who exudes warmth and a cheery welcome.
To officially start the show, Alice sings a delightful little song accompanied by her trusty banjo. After enchanting us with her musical comedy skills, she proceeds to impress us with her take on the ways in which the coronavirus and collapse of live comedy affected her (a very popular topic this year) and indeed this very show, which premiered in Glasgow in March 2020 before being locked down. She riffs on the limitations of Zoom comedy shows, and the dangers of a regular topical news comedy podcast (you may have heard her on The Bugle or The Gargle), which had me empathising strongly with her description of the horror of having to read all the newspapers all the time as a part of one’s job. Chronos is not all harrowing news though, Alice is a master at finding humour in the horrors of life.
Alice then takes us back in time and through the chaos and joy of the process of creation, of being inspired by the people on her train up to Glasgow from London, as she tries to write this very show in four hours while they distract her. We meet some really entertaining and hilarious characters that she describes in great detail. Alice works her way back further in time into more personal spheres describing the strength shown by her mum, the importance of connecting with other people and her struggles with whether she should help create the next generation of humans.
Alice is a seasoned performer with an assured professional delivery, genuine charm and some killer jokes. Mesmerising us with intelligent comedy that is gathering an appreciative following of fans, she also has a way of subtly giving the audience ideas to think about once they have stopped laughing.
Chronos is on at Gilded Balloon Teviot
https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/alice-fraser-chronos