Lou Sanders: One Word: Wow

Maybe it’s the crystals, maybe it’s the comedy – audiences naturally lean into Lou Sanders’ eccentric set

Lou Sanders: One Word: Wow

If I could bottle up the essence of this show and take it with me everywhere I go, I would. In fact, I’d just quite like Lou Sanders to narrate my life, to be honest. One Word: Wow is an absolutely correct title. Not sure what properties are in those crystals, but audiences are feeling revitalised and in giggle fits after Lou’s latest Edinburgh Fringe show. 

Lou Sanders is stood up on stage surrounded by a circle of crystals. They say that crystals absorb energy and convert it into electronic frequency – that’s exactly what happens in Wow. Sanders' energy literally gets absorbed into those crystals, and it pulsates serotonin into the crowd. Sanders has infectious vibes, and I’m not even talking about the pandemic material yet (or ‘Pandy’ as she would call it). 

This show is as eclectic as the mix of crystals. Sanders started writing her show, like many other comedians, during the pandemic. Wow is framed on a diary Sanders whips out now and then, and not the cringe tween type of a diary, it’s a diary she started in 2020/21 that recounts her new skating hobby. It’s madly wholesome, but not without its fair share of drama too. 

The show navigates through what she did during the pandemic; from becoming a fairly bad NHS Volunteer Responder, her antics with learning how to skate, and crushing on a 26-year-old skater. Sanders contemplates the question of whether age differences matter, after all, age is just a number, to which Sanders wittily jabs back “try telling that to my nan who died of it”. One word, wow. 

Sanders has all the charm, confidence and charisma of a veteran comedian. Regularly checking in on the audience, and at one interval she attempted to interact with a pair of grim-faced women who Sanders argued was having a “great time”. In another beat, Sanders’ has an audience member coil in the microphone cable as she ricochets around the stage. The cherry on top, when Sanders’ crystals fall off the stage she instinctually picks up her crystals so that no one taints their vibes. 

I’m convinced that Lou Sanders could fully convince me to buy a pebble with a smiley face. Her comedy is eccentric, and there’s something really peculiar about Lou Sanders’ way of navigating through life – I can’t quite put my finger on it, but it’s something that audiences naturally lean into. 

Header Image Credit: Matt Stronge

Author

Flo Cornall

Flo Cornall Kickstart

Flo Cornall is an English Language & Linguistics graduate who is a self-acclaimed film enthusiast, critic, and writer. She attributes her film taste with her star sign (Gemini) which means she'll watch anything from Cheetah Girls 2 to Twelve Angry Men. From her background in performance poetry, she is a big believer that great artists aren't born but made and is passionate about making the arts sector more inclusive. Flo is a recipient of PA Media's Future of Journalism Fellowship award, a former BBC New Creative and is part of The Guardian's BAME All-Editorial scheme.

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