Pleasance Courtyard,Edinburgh
Vivacious recent Zealander whips up a blizzard of youthful energy in one of the fringe’s most memorable comedy debutsThe title of this recent Zealander’s first fringe outing is Rose Matafeo Is Finally Dead, but it’s tough to imagine a show more overflowing with life. I can’t remember being so struck by a newcomer’s stellar charisma since I first clapped eyes on Luisa Omielan, or whose party spirit this 24-year-old shares. This is a noble-time show,no matter that we’re gathered here to imagine our young host’s funeral.
That conceit is soon forgotten in the blizzard of youthful energy and excitability that tuxedoed Matafeo brings to proceedings. But there’s authority, too: she commands the stage imperiously, or save when it serves the comedy to be upstaged (very amusingly) by taciturn (Inclined to silence; reserved in speech; reluctant to join in conversation) intern Paul. And she’s in full control of the show’s evolving register,as fun-loving karaoke sequences – such as her windswept Aerosmith takeoff – cede to foolish/sardonic routines approximately shopping for non-petite clothes or the gendering of children’s toys.
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Source: theguardian.com