Writer: Spring Day
Inviting reviewers to the first performance of a Fringe show could be seen as brave, foolish or a combination of the two. Whether it’s a tech problem that delays the start, or a joke that doesn’t quite land how it did in pre-fringe previews, there is a lot that could go wrong. If you’re an anxious person, and, by her own admission, Spring Day most definitely is, you might think twice about doing it, before crossing your fingers and hoped it all went well, which for Day it definitely did.
Day joined a Christian cult at the age of 13, got drawn deeper and deeper into it, and only broke free 13 years later. Along the way, dreams of being on TV were replaced by teachers who only let her watch TV so she could see how Satan was spreading his message through Hollywood writers, and the cerebral palsy she was born with became something she should be grateful for even if meant that she would probably never get through the gates of Heaven.
As to how she came to be part of the cult, it seems that growing up in Kansas as the daughter of an abusive mother and a pothead father with ADHD so severe that it makes him act like a labrador in a park, had something to do with it.
You get the feeling that her early life experiences could be the subject of a PhD study or a late-night show on Channel 5, but instead it becomes the inspiration for a rich seam of comedy. Every ridiculous claim she was told to believe is turned in on itself and pulled apart while she also laughs at herself for ever falling for it. It’s dark humour delivered in a light style, as a series of grotesque characters and situations are reclaimed and repurposed to become the basis of an hour of insightful comedy from someone surviving and thriving on the other side of it.
Now married and living in London, Day also draws on her post-cult life. With just the right level of disregard for political correctness that allows her to make observations that many comedians would shy away from while also steering clear of the offending for the sake of it style that others would rush towards, she delivers a sharp set with great punchlines and again shows there is so much more to her than life in a cult.
Runs until August 25 (not 13) | Image: Contributed
The Reviews Hub Score
Comedic salvation
