Anna Burnside reviews a set from ‘an impressive performer.’
When grief rhymes with relief, there’s the making of a gentle musical comedy about finding love later in life - and then losing it again.
Alison Larkin is a gentle presence with her Waitrosey voice and precise pronunciation. There’s quite a lot of context and scene setting before, as a fiftysomething single parent living in the US, she meets a handsome scientist called Bhima.
On their first date, when she admits she narrates audiobooks and does funny voices for a living, he persuades her to do a comedy squirrel. Who can resist a lady who makes bank from her comedy squirrel accent? Certainly not Bhima.
This is all so engaging that it’s easy to drift along and forget the premise of the show. But when Bhima’s health issues make an appearance, it’s as if she has a ticking bomb up on stage beside pianist Gary Schreiner.
Larkin is an impressive performer. She toggles between the Mrs Thatcher impression that delighted Bishop Desmond Tutu and singing in Bhima’s deep Indian-American accent. She even manages to tell the Tutu anecdote in a non-name-dropping way.
In its current format, this show is a bit of a Good Housekeeping article set to music. It just needs a little less preamble and a tiny bit more pace and bite.
Alison Larkin: Grief…A Comedy performs at Assembly George Square from 1410-1510 until August 25, 2024.
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