It’s a good crowd in for Fern Brady, apparently, the last audience wouldn’t cheer her on stage until she threatened suicide, but today we’re all capable of clapping and whooping. Even if one elderly gentleman feels he needs a packet of crisps to give him the energy to do so. These are swiftly confiscated.
Now, if you’ve seen Brady before you might be wondering what an elderly gentleman was doing in the front row of her show. I was too, although actually, this year’s Fringe audience demographic has been… well, I won’t say old. Let’s just say at the last show I went to the person next to me actually turned their phone off. Fern opens with a rundown of her usual audience, usually bearded men who later send her inappropriate messages on Instagram.
It’s not just men who send Brady messages, women do too but always with a caveat that makes it clear they’re aware they may be intruding into her personal space. This interests Brady, this is all part of the power and chaos she wants to talk about in her show. Why are women trained to be so polite? It preserves the power men such as, oh say, Boris Johnson, enjoy.
Brady dissects all the various parts of her life where the power dynamic changes, as a bisexual, Scottish woman whose class is perhaps a little fluid. In Scotland she’s middle class, down in London, due to English people’s peculiar attitude to the Scottish, she’s read as working class.
There’s a particularly interesting section in which Brady discusses how she is not like a lot of women she sees. When discussing this on stage at an earlier gig an audience member informed Brady she was describing some of the traits of Asperger’s Syndrome. This leads on into a routine concerning self-diagnosis before Brady comes to a hilarious conclusion. But in all seriousness I believe a lot of cis-women will identify heavily with the experiences described here.
Much of Fern’s set is delivered whilst nonchalantly leaning against the back wall, which somehow adds a relaxed tinge to some of the more acidic things she had to say, particularly when talking about catcalling. She definitely deserves to be the patron saint of the catcalled, I’m tempted to try out some of her tips.
Sharp, savvy and highly witty with a touch of self deprecation, Fern Brady is a force to be reckoned with.
★★★★
Fern Brady: Power and Chaos is at Monkey Barrel, Barrel 1 at 18:00 until 25th August. For tickets and more information click here!
Funny Women are at the Edinburgh Fringe with five shows, from 19th – 23rd August, a Funny Women Awards 2019 semi-final, a Stand Up to Stand Out workshop and a Meet Up. Come find us!
There’s still time to nominate a women-led show for the 2019 Funny Women Awards’ Best Show Category! The show with the most nominations will be picked! Nominate a show you have seen or your own show by 31st August here!
