Candy Gigi Presents: Friday Night Sinner!

• Brian Donaldson
• 17 August 2019

This article is from 2019

Chaotic and messy semi-musical about a bored housewife and her warped plans for fame

A one-woman entertainment battering ram, Candy Gigi lets absolutely everything rip with her latest raucous affair which is part-musical, part-horror extravaganza. As we gingerly enter the room for this tale of 'sex, showbusiness and woe', a grim-looking man plays tunes from Fiddler on the Roof. We later discover that he is David, Candy's husband from whom she is keen to break free from by any means necessary.

Despite only recently having wed, this bored Jewish housewife still holds a torch for fame, but her past demons haunt her in the shape of arch enemy Sarah Greenberg with whom she did battle on the Borehamwood's Got Talent competition in 2001 (is it pernickety to mention that Britain's Got Talent only started in 2007?) Later, after Candy has had a man up on stage to faux-perform a sex act upon, her plight is further enhanced by falling pregnant: she has a rather icky way of dealing with that little problem.

As ever with a Gigi gig, there is some truly frank behaviour going on while liquids of various types fly across the stage. Some on the front row appear permanently ill-at-ease with the show's happenings and Gigi's performance clearly isn't for all tastes (though she can certainly hold a big note). But for a truly unique Fringe experience, there's little to match Candy Gigi's chaotic and messy universe.

Monkey Barrel, until 25 Aug (not 20), 8.35pm, £5.50 (£4–£4.50) in advance or donations at the venue.