I love to see acts that I have met through the Funny Women Awards grow and develop. I first encountered Anna Morris as half of comedy duo Morris & Vyse back in 2009 when they reached the semi-final stage and since then Anna and Beth have taken different and equally compelling directions.
In her second solo show, Anna introduces us to a roster of weird and wonderful characters who battle it out for the title ‘Woman of the Year.’ The ‘ceremony’ is hosted by last year’s ‘winner’ – viral internet sensation (with over 90,000 hits on YouTube) ‘Georgina the Bride’ (dubbed ‘Britain’s Worst Bride' by the Huffington Post), who has been let loose with a microphone. Georgina is a previous incarnation who had star billing in Anna’s previous solo show Dolly Mixture and her clever re-introduction into this new storyline guarantees some familiar themes for fans.
The audience decides which of the four new characters should win the coveted prize at the end of the show – I am assuming that this is not a foregone conclusion and something that Anna can have fun with throughout her run, allowing the action to ebb and flow depending on the winner.
The contestants include Mumpreneur ‘Nina’ who runs Baby Fit whose prowess as an inspirational speaker has been inspired by hours of strong female-centric Ted Talks; ‘Jane’ the domestic goddess who bakes bad and has a dark secret; ‘Alexi’, single women’s activist and founder of The Bitchelors campaign group; and ‘Keva’ an inappropriately glamorous foreign correspondent whose weapon of choice is charm.
Anna embues the whole show with a sense of balance flitting effortlessly between parody and grotesque. Even though it is a one woman project I came away feeling that I had met five very different women. Rarely do I see such an incisive and consistent approach to characterisation.
Anna is indeed a multi-talented comedian, writer and actress with many television credits as a writer and performer; past Fringe hits Daylords and Daylords Return with Beth Vyse; her debut solo show Dolly Mixture, which had sell-out runs in London, Brighton and Glasgow; and the Jermyn Street run of the hit comedy play Death Ship 666, where she played six characters. Anna will also be starring in Bad Bridesmaids (ITV2) later this year alongside 2008 Funny Women Awards winner, Miss London.
Anna Morris: Would Like to Thank runs from 30th July to 25th August 2014, 4.05pm at the Underbelly, Bristo Square, Edinburgh EH8 9AL. For more details and to book tickets click here.
Lynne Parker.
Photograph of Anna Morris by Idil Sukan
