By Colin Flaherty
A lot of comedians, even the most successful ones, talk about having self doubt and some form of Imposter Syndrome during their career. Kate Dolan uses this widespread affliction as the basis of her show, employing a brilliant device as a counterpoint to the cheerful performer we see on stage.
Her inner dialogue pops up at various points in the performance: a voice possessing an accent that sounds appropriately thuggish. It offers performance tips (which Kate immediately ignores), tut tuts the lukewarm response to her A-material and wonders aloud if the audience are bright enough to appreciate the jokes. It is one hell of a tough taskmaster.
The material proper covers anecdotes from her life including her dating experiences, being en guard against would-be attackers, body image, shopping for a wedding dress and getting intimate with her partner. All seemingly fun, breezy topics upon which she expertly adds considerable heft. Some weight is applied via uncomfortably amusing dark turns that keep the punters on edge. A feminist subtext appears as she regularly lands killer punchlines by laying the boot into the Patriarchy. There is silliness galore, taking concepts to their daftest conclusion. Her brilliant witty wordplay is a treat for all the word nerds.
Kate is a loud and brash personality on stage delivering her material at a brisk clip. Lots of mugging and broad gestures drive the points home. Constantly on the move around the small stage, she’s a bundle of manic energy. A few prop gags go to a lot of effort for a laugh, giving her inner demon ammunition to taunt her.
Things calm down towards the end with a beautiful monologue set to a cosmic light show. It is here that we are allowed to catch our breaths as she seriously reflects on her troubling thought processes with the occasional amusing quip thrown in for relief. A little more levity follows to end things on a happy note, wrapping up a hilariously inventive variation on the stand up form. Bravo!
The Critic is on at Bard’s Apothecary until April 19