By Ron Bingham
Not so much an hour of comedy, as a horrifying 60 minute lecture on the imminent collapse of the British Criminal Justice system.
Abigail has a plethora of stories to share of “interesting” cases, notorious miscarriages of justice, and the activities of serial offenders known to her. The performance was peppered with the occasional dark joke to lighten the tension, but no rolling laughs.
Abigail is self-deprecating at times (see the show’s title), articulate and obviously knowledgeable in her field of expertise . She tells a story well and keeps the audience engaged throughout, especially when dealing with her own cases, she gets across how desperate the situation is for British justice, in particular for those who need it most and can least afford it. However, it really gets political in a heavy handed way at times and overall the show can’t be classed as comedy.
It was fascinating hour for those interested in legal matters or justice, and it’s fantastic that Fringe is a safe place to share these horror stories, but this is not really one for the people looking for a good laugh or quality standup comedy at the Fringe.
Shit Lawyer is on at Gilded Balloon Patter House until August 25
https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/abigail-rolling-shit-lawyer