Comedy review: Leah MacRae – My Big, Fat, Fabulous Diary, Beacon Arts Centre, Greenock
Leah MacRae – My Big, Fat, Fabulous Diary, Beacon Arts Centre, Greenock ****
The premise of the show is that MacRae has rediscovered a diary she kept in her youth, and will be sharing passages. These prove to be relatable extracts of childish naivety and teenage angst, with MacRae in the present marvelling at her precocity, self-belief and stupidity, especially in the realms of love and professional ambitions.
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Hide AdThe script doesn’t always sparkle – she’s no Sue Townsend. Still, it’s authentic, and there’s some very funny observational humour (particularly about the film Ghost). Moreover, she brings it to life with wonderful vivacity, her gifts as a physical comedian to the fore, whether nailing 90s dance moves or letting her lip curl and eyes narrow sadistically whenever she recalls a love rival. And then there’s that voice, which in the second half especially, truly soars. She may yet get to storm the musicals in London’s West End.
JAY RICHARDSON