As the saying goes, when life gives you lemons you make lemonade. Life gave Jayde Adams a Bristolian upbringing, great comic sensibility, an affinity for drag queens, and an impressive set of pipes. The comedian has taken these and funnelled them into an enjoyable hour of musical numbers and loosely autobiographical comedy.
With the right crowd and the right energy the show could get as earth-moving as that Bristol Earthquake.
The show kicks off with a strong opener, an introductory song which acts as both a greeting and outlet for audience banter. Supported on piano by Jerry Springer: The Opera co-creator Richard Thomas, it’s a terrific start to the set with Adams connecting to the audience through a funny and inventive tune.
From there the audience is taken on a whistle-stop tour through Adams’ background, her hopes and her views on subjects as diverse as getting action roles in Hollywood with a West-Country accent, positive body image, and the earthquake which struck Bristol earlier this year. With added input from Adams’ real-life partner, comedian Rich Wilson, dressed in a black morph suit and granted the nickname ‘Pudding’, it’s a well put together set.
When it comes to the songs themselves, as with a lot of musical comedy the wordplay is often impressive rather than funny, but the tunes are well-constructed and performed with gusto. On the night of review the energy levels of the audience seemed to dip a little lower than the performer would have liked, and as a result some of the material didn’t connect. However Adams is a likeable comedian so even though the spectacle wasn’t riotous it was always enjoyable.
Not only is her rhinestone-game amongst the strongest you’ll find at the Fringe this year, Jayde Adams’ set has some really entertaining moments. With the right crowd and the right energy the show could get as earth-moving as that Bristol Earthquake.
