The List

Ange Lavoipierre: Final Form

Disclaimer: This is an archived article dated before Saturday 1 January 2022. As such, images and embedded content may be missing.
Uncertain comedy manoeuvring that gets a little repetitive
Share:
Ange Lavoipierre: Final Form

Uncertain comedy manoeuvring that gets a little repetitive

We're all multiple different people to multiple other different people: friends, family, colleagues and lovers. That's the premise of Ange Lavoipierre's Edinburgh debut, Final Form, and although it's an interesting concept, the execution leaves a little to be desired. The show is built around the premise of context collapse, inspired by 1950s sociologist Erving Goffman's writing on the subject. What will happen when Lavoipierre dies and all the different aspects of her personality are forced to collide? What will happen when her friends' image of 'fun Ange' meets her father's idea of good girl Ange?

The set-up is a little clunky, jumping between forced audience participation, cello-playing, mini raps and monologues, with the show relying heavily on the repetition of these same devices, which feel somewhat stale after their first iteration. The hour is more like a one-woman theatre show than a work of comedy, with laugh-out-loud jokes few and far between. There are a lot of original observations, but they feel too light at times.

It's a show, ultimately, about knowing yourself and owning who you are. Lavoipierre is clearly a woman of many talents, from journalist to cellist, but you don't get the feeling that although she might know who she is, she doesn't yet know what her comedy style should be.

Underbelly George Square, until 26 Aug, 10.40pm, £9–£10 (£8–£9).

↖ Back to all news