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Rosalie Minnitt: Clementine comedy review – Costume caper with chutzpah

A period character show featuring a performance veering from gleeful to crazed that hits home

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Rosalie Minnitt: Clementine comedy review – Costume caper with chutzpah

Parodying the likes of Jane Austen and Bridgerton, with a bit of Downton in there for good measure, Clementine skewers the once popular notion that a woman who has reached the positively geriatric age of 27 is a bit over the hill and should marry any old thing to avoid being a dried-up old spinster. This is a fun and gleefully chaotic show as Rosalie Minnitt runs about the stage in a frilly pink frock and a crazed look in her eye. The production itself is skilfully done with neat on-screen visuals, thumping music and lots of prop gags. The dance scene at the ball is a particular highlight.

Picture: Ben Meadows

The only downside is that the script is underwritten, with punchlines often tending towards weak. Sometimes Minnitt relies on getting a laugh from the juxtaposition of saying coarse terms such as ‘sack of shit’ while looking twee and pretty in her costume. Elsewhere, when her father is nagging her she hits back with ‘alright papa, don’t preach’. Overall Minnitt sells it with such chutzpah that it remains a thoroughly entertaining show and with a rewrite it could be brilliant.

Rosalie Minnitt: Clementine, Underbelly Cowgate, until 27 August, 2.25pm.

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