Alice Fraser: Oh Man! comedy review – Mocking modern masculinity
Darting between a technological tirade, a meta-commentary and a look into male psychology, a lot is crammed into this scattered set
How do we define masculinity? This has become an increasingly pressing topic of discussion in recent years and it’s the question Alice Fraser enthusiastically tries to quantify in Oh Man!. The show is part AI and tech commentary, part personal storytelling and part critique of the state of comedy as an artform, topped off with mandatory dick jokes necessitated in a show about men. Fraser delivers an energetic, enthusiastic performance with the help of a special Roomba vacuum and some tech support, her undeniable passion coming through in more intimate personal moments.
Featuring three themes, the hour has a huge amount of ground to cover, with a lot of factual evidence and politics to follow. Fraser commendably doesn’t shy away from complexity and presents a meta-structure of storytelling. But whether constantly shuffling between subjects and giving away the ending early are successful is a matter for debate. A need to make sense of multiple topics running simultaneously interrupts the pace of a promising show. The ending does manage, though, to draw some of the strings together and Fraser’s attempt at tackling masculinity with humour is commendable.
Alice Fraser: Oh Man!, Monkey Barrel Tron, until 30 August, 8.40pm; picture: Monica Pronk.