Aisling Bea: C'est la Bea

Strong debut showcasing many talents
The blurb on Aisling Bea's Fringe entry states it's her 'highly-anticipated debut stand-up show': a big claim, but C’est La Bea certainly lives up to the hype. She won So You Think You're Funny? last August and has now followed it up with an absolutely solid hour of brilliant material; it’s probably more than an hour given the rate at which she talks.
Bea's chatter covers growing up in very rural Ireland with a jockey mother, the delights that were to be had at their local disco and her enduring love of hip hop. Just in case we're getting bored, the stand-up segments are punctuated with a showcase of her 'talents.'
Not that there's any chance of boredom in this show, there isn't a gag that goes by without a laugh. Bea crafts a wonderful turn of phrase and teams them with some fantastic analogies. In addition, there's a musicality to her voice (not simply from the Irish accent) that adds to the gag: like Sarah Millican and Ross Noble, she possesses a natural rhythm. Surely a dead cert for the newcomer list this year?
Gilded Balloon, 622 6552, until 26 Aug (not 13), 6.30pm, £9.50–£10.50 (£8.50–£9.50).