As we wait for Steff Todd to take the stage I notice two girls in the audience taking a selfie, which seems to be very apt for this show which deals in reality TV shows such as The Kardashians and The Only Way is Essex, as well as the show’s creator Steff Todd who has become something of a social media sensation herself.
After an opening that itself mimics the beginning of many reality TV shows, Todd takes to the stage and shares with us a voicemail from her mother before engaging with a bit of banter with the lads in the front row and a fellow Yorkshire lass in the audience, though due to their origins being from opposite ends of Yorkshire, Todd noted the pair couldn’t understand each other. Todd informs us that her wild social life of drinking and going out has resulted in her needing a reality check. She introduces her impressions therefore, by regaling us with a night in watching TV.
I am seated next to two women who spend a lot of time informing each other they don’t watch the shows and, therefore, cannot judge Todd’s impressions. I don’t own a TV (not because I am one of those people, because I was burgled in 2016 due to my husband leaving a window open and we cannot replace the TV because that would involve talking about The Time He Left the Bloody Window Open and We Got Burgled) so I too have not seen many of these shows and so can’t tell you if some impressions were dead-on.
However, those that I do recognise – such as her Jenner and Kardashian impressions – are hilariously spot-on. So let’s presume the rest of her impressions are just as convincing in their content and sound.
Todd is a good performer and has a natural stage presence, her venue is one that audiences often find hard to settle in, it’s usually either too wet or too hot or both and on the day I saw her, it was too hot, making her audience antsy and hard to control. While the concept of the show could perhaps do with some finesse so that Todd could showcase her talent a little more naturally, I have no doubt that she will be on our screens on a Saturday night in the not too distant future.
★★★★
Steff Todd: Reality Check is at Just the Tonic at the Caves at 14:00 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!
