Jenny Fawcett

• Marissa Burgess
• 2 August 2012

This article is from 2012.

Unhinged nerd wrings constant laughs

As the audience streams in, Jenny Fawcett’s already rummaging amongst us, noting our names on a bit of paper. A gawky, bespectacled figure sporting a criminally uncool Nigel Kennedy t-shirt, Fawcett tells us of the momentous day – September 11 2001 – when she tap danced in a talent contest and first spotted her napkin-chasing beloved.

The unhinged nerd is a familiar figure, but Fawcett is a skilfully written creation wringing constant laughs. The performance too is beautifully nuanced, whether it’s a look over the glasses she's forever pushing back up her nose or the slow-motion sequence featuring a peeled orange.

It’s no surprise to learn that behind Fawcett is the RADA-trained Louise Ford (of Ford & Akram fame). With these skills she relates tales of being bullied by Brownies, her pervert uncle, and her first sighting of Peter Roderick Dink, a man she loves with such ardour she can draw his hairy calf muscle entirely from memory. Funny, weird and quirky: everything a Fringe show should be.

Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, until 27 Aug (not 13), 12.50pm, £8--£8.50 (£7--£7.50).