EDNBURGH 2023: Review: LAURA RAMOSO: FRANCES, Pleasance Dome, QueenDome

If you’ve been on TikTok, you’ve probably seen at least one of Laura Ramoso’s characters. You have her strict German mother who is constantly giving her grief, her Italian Dad dramatically making dinner, or girls coming back from trips to Europe. Laura Ramoso: FRANCES gives Ramoso the opportunity to jump from the screen to the stage, going from minute-long sketches to an hour of comedy. 

Ramoso is incredibly talented and shows off her ability to play a range of characters, bringing some of her iconic TikTok-famous roles onto the stage. She is able to become another person with changes to her voice and body language, switching between characters with ease. My favourite character of hers was an Italian father in the Italian Father Olympics, which consisted of a voiceover of an announcer describing how Ramoso’s dad is getting ready for the airport. 

While the different characters are fun, it feels like Ramoso attempted to put too much into the show while also trying to insert a plot. We are following the relationship between Frances and Frank, but then suddenly we are being yelled at by Ramoso’s German mother or seeing a girl nearly org*sming over her trip to France. There are several times in which she sings, including a song about her height, that do not relate to the show at all, feeling like they are simply adding to the running time. The breaks in between scenes were quite long, making it feel as though each moment was entirely separate and making it a bit confusing when it turns out that one scene was actually connected to another. 

The highlight of the show? Ramoso’s crowd work. She does a fantastic job interacting with the audience, particularly two people she selects as friends of her main characters, Frances and Frank, asking them for advice throughout the show and incorporating them into the plot of the story. Ramoso is quick on her feet and is able to give great responses almost instantly, not afraid to call out audience members and weave them into the story. 

Ultimately, Laura Ramoso: FRANCES is a fun show, giving Ramoso the chance to show off her talent on stage, but it struggles to follow a compelling plot. I would have loved to see either a set of completely unrelated sketches or a straight story.

Laura Ramoso: FRANCES runs at Pleasance Dome, QueenDome at 20:20 until 28 August.

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