In his show Iceberg the comedian Will Duggan (this is about Lou Sanders, I promise, but we’re starting with Will because patriarchy) references comedy’s loose grasp on the phrase ‘the other day’, which can mean anything from last week to 1997. I think comedians play fast and loose with the phrase ‘the other day’ because 1) their tendency to obsess over things so everything feels like ‘the other day’ to them and 2) sometimes it helps ease along a narrative, a comedian always takes the most eventful route to a gig for instance. It’s just a well-known little device or crutch to lean on in comedy. In One Word: Wow, Lou relies on no such things.
Instead, a few strategically placed crystals on the stage for various energies are relied on to set the scene. Honestly, I don’t think there’s anyone like Lou Sanders on the circuit. Nearly every other line appears to be an aside and her performance is so in the moment it’s unclear as to whether, even when referring to a diary entry that presumably she wrote, Lou often seems a bit surprised. It shouldn’t work, it should be chaos, instead it’s hilarious.
Aha, you might be thinking, reading from your diary, that’s an old trick. Yes, but this is not a childhood diary where we all laugh at how pompous a 13-year-old can be, or reminisce about a cereal discontinued in 2003. This is a diary from 2020/21, where Lou recounts taking up a new hobby of skating and a crush on a 26-year-old skater, all while the comedy scene was closed for business.
But this isn’t a show about skating, or trying something new in your thirties, or cougars, or toyboys, or the various little titbit overheards Lou throws in whether they’re relevant or not. There must be method to the madness, I just can’t work out what it is. And I don’t want to, all I can tell you is I laughed all the way through and you will just have to go and see it.
★★★★★
Lou Sanders: One Word: Wow is at Monkey Barrel 3 at 17:40 until 28th August. For tickets visit EdFringe.com