After last year’s For Worse, and knowing how expectations can ruin a person’s experience of a show, I was very worried going in to Sara Barron’s Enemies Closer at the swanky Pleasance. I was won over very early into the show and all my fears subsided.
Sara very nimbly hides an important message on self-perception and self-righteousness in a seemingly innocuous show, meant solely for the purposes of laughter. Don’t get me wrong, there’s laughter in spades! Barron is a deft performer who knows how to measure her energy and distribute it in a very balanced way throughout the show.
An unfortunately sick audience member threatened to ruin it all when they had to leave the venue for an unavoidable purge, but it didn’t seem to faze Sarah, who at that point, very early on, had been able to connect with each member of the audience, despite them being many and all around her. I think she must have achieved her 10K steps in those 60 minutes, if not more!
The show is so well written, that you’re caught off guard by callbacks of very deftly placed seeds earlier in the show, and there’s not even the very common “*wink, wink*, see what I did there?” from the part of the performer. It’s all seamless.
At the end of the 60 minutes, you’re left wondering how time went by so fast, but still have to run to your next show, since time doesn’t actually stand still!
★★★★★
Sara Barron: Enemies Closer is at the Pleasance Courtyard at 20:30 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!
