Laura Lexx, Edinburgh review: 'a wickedly funny portrayal of parenthood'

In her latest show Slinky, Laura Lexx seems to have fully unlocked her stand-up persona, writes Jay Richardson
Laura LexxLaura Lexx
Laura Lexx

Laura Lexx: Slinky, Monkey Barrel, Edinburgh ★★★★

Much has changed since Laura Lexx's last show in 2019. If anything, the world is even on more on fire, so her climate-exacerbated anxiety hasn't diminished. Yet ADHD is now seen as rampant in stand-up, almost a comedian's default setting. And while she's loath to be officially diagnosed - another label for her mental health issues - her peppily sharp audience engagement and ease with digressions certainly tick all the boxes for someone with the condition, as she breezily accepts.

On her first real UK tour, at least the first conducted outside the Zoom-enabled constraints of the Covid-era, the big news is that Lexx has a young daughter. Having struggled to conceive for the better part of a decade and made that difficult subject the thoughtful, relatable focus of her comedy for a time, her potential now seems more unshackled. Without downplaying the impact being childless had upon her, her ongoing anxiety and the nuanced, cross-generational focus she brings to bear upon it, it's as if she's fully unlocked her stand-up persona.

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Like Jen Brister and Romesh Ranganathan, Lexx lets rip on the nightmare of raising her toddler, and the Stockholm Syndrome-esque feeling of being in thrall to a tiny, capricious dictator, with the tacit understanding yet rarely voiced acknowledgement of how much she loves her offspring.

I'm not sure the visual metaphor of multiple slinky toys cascading down stairs truly adds anything or really reflects the angst she's conveying. But Lexx revealingly unpacks the dysfunctional baggage she's inherited from her parents and is now desperately trying to avoid passing on.

This is deep, sage, but above all wickedly funny portrayal of parenthood, which also includes agitated reflections on feminism and body image, and is delivered with an assuredly light touch that belies the heavy import of everything she's talking about.

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