Having written for the likes of ‘Bad Education’ and ‘Never Mind The Buzzcocks’, young comic Leila Navabi is making her Fringe debut with a show that explores the ethics of ‘exploiting marginalised identities for social gain’. It’s a frantic musical comedy about being Gen-Z, gay, Welsh and brown – interspersed with sketches, songs and some intentionally awkward piano playing.
There are some laugh-out-loud parts, like sketches about identifying as an imp and falling in love with a Claire’s accessories employee, or the song about potatoes (‘from patatas to vodka’), which feels fully fresh. Yet, as a whole, the whole thing doesn’t quite click. Some of the material was overly obscure and could have done with more explanation, like the Rishi Sunak and Prince Charles number.
Navabi comes across as very switched-on, but the hopeful takeaway message which she (luckily) spelled out at the end of the show was hard to decipher in all of the noise. It’s an okay start for somebody tipped as an emerging star, but it’s in need of some tightening up.
