Sara starts her set with the classic, almost obligatory, outsider observations on British behaviour before diving into much more personal (but no lest brash) material about annoying friends, conception, and a number of anecdotes about her husband – who I hope signed off on his characterisation in the routine…
You can tell when an American has become ‘Anglicised’ by how comfortable they are with the c-word. Sara Barron, who has been learning our ways for 10 years, is definitely comfortable with it – and uses it to great effect. If you’re of a delicate disposition, the show might not be for you.
Despite adopting our ways, she is still buoyed with what she describes as “American energy”. Loud, animated, and willing to work the crowd, Sara is a bundle of chaotic energy, pacing the small stage of Pleasance Upstairs as she regails to a captivated crowd her fears of growing old; the nightmare reality of relationships when you’re over 29; and a lot of detail about conception and her attempts with IVF.
Not every joke worked, and despite admiral efforts, I’m not sure she’s yet cracked her life mission of making one particular subject matter side-splittingly funny, although it certainly generated plenty of chuckles – some rather awkward! Unfortunately, it was this that Sara chose to end the show on, which left it feeling slightly deflated after the crescendo that preceded.
Despite this, Sara provides a solid hour of entertainment, with plenty of cringe to help you to validate your own (probably!) dysfunctional relationships.
As a final aside, she cracked my favourite joke of the Fringe so far, and I think it was off the cuff! If you enjoy crass oversharing, and brutal observations of everyday reality, then this is definitely a show to see. If not? No hard feelings.
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