Reviews OWE & Fringe Published 25 September 2013

Claudia O’Doherty: Pioneer

Soho Theatre ⋄ 23rd September - 5th October 2013

The cost of comedy.

Stewart Pringle

Claudia O’Doherty’s not doing what she says she’s doing. Maybe she’s doing what she set out to do or maybe she isn’t, but she’s definitely not doing what she says she’s doing. Intention is difficult to determine when you’re being bellowed at by a hyperactive Australian lunatic. Pioneer is such an overwhelming show, delivered with such verve and smarts, and with such visual inventiveness that it’s a bit difficult to decide much of anything for certain, as O’Doherty drives you through her surreal narrative. It’s not even clear how good it is. But when the dust settles, you suspect the answer might be Very.

Ostensibly we’re faced with a satire of the increased commercialisation and brandification of comedy, with O’Doherty’s visibly pricey show seeking sponsorship from audio/visual giants Pioneer. The one that makes car stereos. You can imagine the idea coming to her when she was nominated for the Edinburgh Comedy Award last year, the whoring megalith that’s had so many pimps nobody even bothers to name them anymore. O’Doherty hopes that Pioneer will fork out for the massive dual-projector setup that sees much of the show performed from between two vast gauzes, leaving her trapped like a video game character in a world of digital characters and neon typography. It’s visually stunning, is used in ways that are constantly surprising and often quite beautiful, and the first of many aspects that sets Pioneer apart from all but the most ambitious stand-up.

The meat of O’Doherty’s narrative is less concerned with corporate sponsorship and more a free-wheeling riddling of her potential, expected and actual place in the world. It’s a far more personal show than The Telescope, one that considers O’Doherty’s status as a woman, an entertainer and an economic entity. Bounding on stage with a pregnancy bump that she gleefully throws aside as ‘FUCK THAT SHIT’ blasts onto the screens like a hi-score, she compares her lot to the various alternate-Claudia’s who fulfil the other roles life could have carved out for her, or she could have carved out of life. They crowd round her, the other women, until she blows them into pixels with a mimed revolver.

The projection work could easily be the gimmick O’Doherty pretends it is, but in fact it provides her with a level of control over her material that extends further than the stand-up’s conventional palette. She can flip her story into an advertisement, provide a silent counter-point to her stories, or transform herself into a rock star or a lightning-fingered witch without missing a beat.

The effect is dazzling, but that comes with the caveat that the show’s humour occasional sinks beneath the pyrotechnics. Filled with astute observations, it’s lighter on all-out laughter, and too giddy to settle into working on the political points it raises. It’s feminist in a riot-TRON sort of way, with O’Doherty pumping the air and not giving a care like a Dance Dance Revolution champion from the future. To call it style without substance would be missing all the points, but when comedy’s as stylish and innovative as this, the substance has a habit of washing over you.

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Stewart Pringle

Writer of this and that and critic for here and there. Artistic director of the Old Red Lion Theatre.

Claudia O’Doherty: Pioneer Show Info


Written by Claudia O'Doherty

Link http://sohotheatre.com/

Running Time 1 hr (no interval)

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