Writer and performer Paul Carroll understands comedy and his skills in the art of executing slapstick are excellent. With the very inventive use of clothes as props, he creates a seamless performance where the speed of the costume changes are mirrored beautifully with the pace of his spoken word.
Gags come with pathos and he is a true clown. Throughout the show he is ‘auditioning’ and along the way he deals with a dismissive director and the pitfalls of the process. This comedy is very honest and you can tell that it comes from Carroll’s heart, a wonderful highlight being where he introduces an aristocrat with Tourettes. A poignant section where he takes fairytale characters – Cinderella, for example – and weaves them into a story told in a satirical fashion that emphasises his opinion on social class and the current stage of affairs on the world stage.
This is hysterical and if your taste for bawdy comedy is yet to be satisfied then seeing Paul Carroll’s Forty Shades of Strawberry Blonde should satisfy that craving. You won’t see better.
****
Forty Shades of Strawberry Blond was at the Leicester Square Theatre
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