EDINBURGH 2023: Review: TAMSYN KELLY: CRYING IN TK MAXX, Pleasance Courtyard

Is there a show at this year's Fringe that has a better title than this? Surely there can't be!

Tamsyn Kelly brings her latest hour of stand up comedy to this years Edinburgh Festival Fringe, asking both us and herself the question: how have men shaped her life? From Mr. Blobby, to the chicken-shop man, to her estranged father, what effect have they left on her and how have they impacted her life?

With a microphone in one hand and a prosecco in the other, Kelly coolly addresses the audience, creating a casual atmosphere that puts everyone in the room at ease. As she speaks to members of the crowd it creates the impression that her show is more of a friendly get together than a stand up gig, though she constantly remains the star of the show.

To begin with Kelly regales the audience with a disagreement she recently had with her mother; do people ever really change? Kelly's mum argues that people are multifaceted whilst Tamsyn herself has a much more cynical view of the world. It is in this knowledge that the show revolves around, interlacing stories around the question of whether anyone truly changes or not, sometimes without us even realising this is what she is doing.

It is this aspect of the show that captures the comedian's talents as a storyteller. Regardless of how well some of the jokes land or not it's clear that she is constantly in control of both the story of the show and the audience themselves.

As the show goes on the darker these stories get, from her first crush and her first ever rectal exam to her father dislocating her fingers. It may seem as though a stark contrast but the show naturally culminates to the darker side of both Kelly's humour and her stance on the argument; do people really change?

Ultimately, Kelly's jokes don't always land big and the laughs aren't always in quick succession but one can't help but enjoy themselves regardless at Tamsyn Kelly: Crying in TK Maxx.

Tamsyn Kelly: Crying in TK Maxx is at the Pleasance Courtyard until 27 August.

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