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Wendy Wason's Flashbacks
Published on Monday, 15 August 2011
2

2 stars

The Stand Comedy Club (venue website)
Comedy
4 Aug, 3:20pm-4:20pm; 5-14, 16-28 Aug, 3:30pm-4:30pm
Reviewed by Mathilda Gregory

 Recommended for age 14+ only.

At eight months pregnant and counting, Wendy Wason seems remarkably high-energy, and very charming. Her show Flashbacks is about her life so far, which she punctuates by telling us what record was number one on the day she was born and other key dates (when she was 10, 20 and so on). To do this she uses an iPhone app. She asks members of the audience their date of birth and tells them what was number one when they were born, and I was sitting there thinking: I could do this for myself at home.

She does have a bit of schtick about the number one record when you were born being indicative of your life, but she doesn’t take this anywhere. I know it’s hardly a scientific theory, but I was surprised that she didn’t say anything further to explain how it might or might not be true.

And, sadly, the Flashbacks theme of the show seemed to be a vehicle for dated material about 70s fashions and 80s films – and, later, a joke based solely on media misconceptions about the game Grand Theft Auto. There wasn’t much originality or insight. The show also touched on Wason’s life in South Africa and Dubai, but failed to say much about those experiences, which is a shame.

Wason is a personable performer and does seem to have had a fascinating life, but when she was scrolling through her iPhone, yet again, playing clips of songs to demonstrate that singer Adele was an unsuitable role model for her daughter – I’m still not sure why – I really felt that this show didn’t have a great deal of thought behind it.

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