Laura Daniel - PRESSURE MAKES DIAMONDS
BATS Theatre, The Heyday Dome, 1 Kent Tce, Wellington
03/05/2016 - 07/05/2016
10/05/2016 - 14/05/2016
Flick 2016 NZ International Comedy Festival
Production Details
Created and performed by Laura Daniel
Laura Daniel will be jamming stand-up, sketch, characters, song and confetti into her comedy pressure cooker and blasting out an hour long spectacle that is gonna make you yell “yasss bitch” to the sky!
As seen nn TV3’s Jono And Ben and Funny Girls.
2016 Billy T nominee
Winner – Best Performance in Comedy Award 2015, Auckland Fringe Festival
Winner – Breakthrough Comedian 2015, NZ Comedy Guild
Facebook – /lauradanielnz
Wellington – 9pm daily
Bookings: https://nz.patronbase.com/_BATS/Productions/PRES/Performances
TICKET PRICES
| Full Price | $18.00 |
|---|---|
| Concession | $14.00 |
| Group 10+ | $13.00 |
| Cheap Wednesday | $13.00 |
*service fee may apply
Auckland – 7.15pm daily
Bookings: https://www.iticket.co.nz/events/2016/may/laura-daniel
TICKET PRICES
| Full Price | $18.00 |
|---|---|
| Concession | $16.00 |
| Group 10+ | $15.00 |
| Cheap Wednesday | $14.40 |
*service fee may apply
Comedy , Theatre , Solo ,
1 hour
EGOCENTRIC ECCENTRICITY
Review by Nik Smythe 11th May 2016
That this is not your basic observational standup performance is evidenced as we enter by the presence of a swivel chair (So there’ll likely be some sitting too!), and a table of props along with the more typical mic stand.
A short set from Flo the unbilled warm-up type support act precedes the main event. There’s no way to describe her act without spoiling it; suffice to say her name is indeed a reference to the euphemistic aunt of women’s anatomy fame.
Then the headline act we came to see explodes onto the stage dressed all in black and rapping up a storm.
Not at all shy and certainly not retiring, Daniel zealously overshares a number of facts relating to her personal background and various experiences ranging from cringeworthy to completely outrageous. There’s a good deal of audience participation too, which the opening night capacity crowd were more than up for.
She addresses the ‘issue’ of being a woman in comedy in her stride, having long since established a very simple solution to dealing with negative bigotry, not that there’s a positive kind. A handful of broad, albeit purposely second-rate characterisations exhibit a talent that could be truly formidable with the right vehicle and direction.
The histrionic shoutyness gets a bit jarring at times, and one gets impression she’s throwing it all at the wall to see what sticks. Quite a lot does, and there’s little time to get preoccupied with what does not.
Copyright © in the review belongs to the reviewer
Comments
nik smythe May 12th, 2016
I am sorry. I could say more but it would just be seen as more defensive justification. I want what everyone else here wants, and am upset that I've apparently contributed to the problem instead of any form of resolution.
Penny Ashton May 12th, 2016
And believe me, some umbrage has been taken.
David Cormack May 12th, 2016
You may also want to revisit your use of "histrionic shoutyness"
Christine Brooks May 12th, 2016
Thanks for your reply Nik. I totally understand that you didn't intend to be sexist but I'm letting you know how it came across, at least to me.
nik smythe May 12th, 2016
I respect your concern, and as you say i had no intention at all of implying what you suggest. It's a possibly clumsy attempt to evoke the excitable young show-off type persona that Laura projects, which I gather is largely exaggerated character. She also takes some jabs at the cliches around the bigoted attitudes towards women in comedy and elsewhere in the world, which is really what the remark in question was speaking to.
I'm hopeful Laura herself doesn't find this review patronising or offensive. As it happens I was already asked to rewrite the original because I unwittingly loaded it with what she felt were spoilers, for which I definitely apologise.
Christine Brooks May 11th, 2016
I don't know Laura and I didn't see her show. I'm commenting because I was struck by the subtly sexist language used in your review. For example: "Not at all shy and certainly not retiring..." I'm not sure why you described her like this. It gives the impression that for some reason you expected that she could/should be that way and you were surprised she was not. I'm not sure what you usually expect of comics but 'shy and retiring' are not words I'd use. Would you ever make that comment in a review of a man's comedy persona?
It may seem a small thing to comment about and you might have had no intention of giving that impression but I'm commenting because language matters and it could be something you want to think about when you review in the future.