Mel Moon first came to our attention about seven years ago when she entered the Funny Women Awards. One baby already under her belt and another soon to follow Mel made it into the final in 2012. The next thing that life threw at her was a near death experience followed by numerous attempts at a diagnosis.
Mel has been living with the grim reaper in her sights ever since due to a debilitating and incurable condition that renders her bedridden and exhausted for weeks at a time. She considered suicide to end the pain and even contacted Dignitas about managing the end of her own life.
Such a sad tale would not automatically inspire an Edinburgh show yet there is often humour involved when your fate is in the lap of the gods. As if to tempt this still further Mel has paraded a coffin down the Royal Mile and urges her audiences to celebrate their ‘New Year’ with her every day on the premiss that you never know when it will be yours or her last.
Despite the gruesomeness of perpetual medical intervention and the uncertainty of life with her illness Mel manages to extract humour, get laughs and leave her audiences feeling inspired and uplifted. There’s a messianic purpose to this show and let us trust that this first run at the Fringe will not be her last. There’s much more to come…
★★★
Mel Moon is at The Counting House, The Attic, 8th-30th August. For more information click here!
