There is always something very attractive to the British comedy consumer about seeing an American comic, perhaps especially someone from New York. It’s all in the delivery. Ginny has a typically dry, laconic sense of humour which often requires the audiences to fill in the punchline in their own heads. She is exceptionally good at this, to the extent that a joke occasionally hits dead air because the audience didn’t quite spot that it was a joke, so drily was it delivered. However, it has to be said that this is more due to a British audience acclimatising to the style of delivery than to the quality of the gag. Once on board and tuned in, her material went down really well.
Her show is hung around her journey through her 20s using data in pursuit of the sort of career and relationship happiness that we’re sold as the answer to finding contentment, only to reach her 30s and discover that it is all some flavour of nonsense. Throughout she is unflinchingly honest about her descent into heavy drinking and her sometimes chaotic sex life, but the very funny jokes don’t stop coming at any point and that prevents it from being in any way maudlin.
Now 32, her cultural reference points were broad enough to be understood by all age groups. The show speaks very loudly about the anxieties we all have about growing into ourselves, understanding why we do what we do and generally trying to sift the dirt from the diamonds, as we stumble blindly through life trying to find some sense in it all. I came away feeling uplifted.
Four Stars
Ginny Hogan – Regression
Gilded Balloon Teviot Lounge.
Aug 9-13, 15-27https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/ginny-hogan-regression
