Cecily Hitchcock: Family Recipe comedy review – Tentative, nostalgic quips
Cecily Hitchcock’s nostalgia-fuelled, food-themed Fringe debut charms with goofy parodies and bizarre anecdotes, but at times feels over-baked
Ever visited Cambourne, the identikit, Blair-era New Town? For Cecily Hitchcock, it’s where she spent her formative years. Like her birthplace, her debut show is a little safe and a little formulaic. Family Recipe finds Hitchcock navigating a familiar strain of TikTok-inflected ‘Clapham girlie’ comedy, complete with crowd work and a vernacular that sometimes feels more suited to 60-second online clips than a full hour.
The performance succeeds when Hitchcock gets specific. Her family’s penchant for grotesque 1970s cuisine, such as banana wrapped in ham, produces the evening’s biggest laughs, while her expressive impressions of her parents are sharply observed. She has an easy stage presence too, chatting to the audience like a group of mates.
But the strongest material is spread thinly. Some jokes are over-explained and a few punchlines don’t quite earn their callbacks. Still, there’s enjoyable silliness here, culminating in Hitchcock dressed as Gordon Brown singing Cher’s ‘Believe’ to a life-sized cutout of Tony Blair. If she leaned into that absurdity, and stripped back the borrowed persona, this could be an excellent show.
Cecily Hitchcock: Family Recipe, Pleasance Courtyard, until 30 August, 8.10pm.