Sarah Kendall is one of my favourite comedians. Not because she is wearing the same Oxford bag jeans and checked shirt that she wore when I first saw her over a decade ago (that would be a minus as she’s had children since then!) or that her pre-Raphaelite looks bely her ripe antipodean turn of phrase (I know, quaint eh?). It’s because she has really owned the C-word for all that time too. She uses it in an understated gentle way more in line with its use as a Scottish ‘term of endearment’ than a harsh expletive that makes you wince when the reality of its meaning hits you between the eyes.
This show explores the real story behind a school days misdemeanour where Sarah dubbed a particularly unpleasant master as the ‘King of C****s’ in what she believed was a discreet fit of inaudible pique. The rest I will leave to your imagination but the background is rather surprising and the narration takes some fascinating, funny and sad twists and turns on its way to its denouement. To tell more would spoil for those of you yet to see the show and see it you must.
Sarah is a jewel in the comedy crown, having been nominated for the Perrier Award (now Foster's Edinburgh Comedy Award) in 2004, the first woman to be nominated in almost a decade. This show demonstrates why and to see her audience spellbound on a damp and rather quiet Sunday evening is one of my festival highlights. Catch Sarah if you can – this is comedy craft at its best.
Lynne Parker
Sarah Kendall’s Touchdown is at the Pleasance Courtyard until Monday 25th August. For more details click here!
