Anna Burnside reviews a performance with mixed results.
It’s not easy being a perimenopausal power mama with a face that is not, to quote a charming chap Ria Lina bumped into on the street recently - “not British”.
Add in the kung fu master that she married when she was 19 and he was 40, and Lina has no shortage of rich material.
She is particularly interested in the roles that different hormones play in the ovaries’ leaving party. Lina personalises these, with actions, to the alarm of the sole teenage boy at the show with his parents. If he had ever wondered what testosterone was, exactly, her horny rock star stylings leave him without a single doubt.
A set piece about military-level Asian child rearing is a highlight. She takes it as an insult if she is referred to as a helicopter parent. Lina’s kids are monitored with more hardware than Camp Bastion.
Overall, the pacing is slightly off and a chunk about autism at the end feels rushed. That’s what happens when you get carried away by testosterone.
Ria Lina: Riabellion is at Monkey Barrel Comedy (CabVol1) until August 24, 2025 (no performances on the 14th or 21st).
Photo by Steve Ullathorne.
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