You can see why Sikisa Bostwick-Barnes themed her present round events – particularly, a home occasion she threw to rejoice the tip of social distancing. With a celebration for a persona, the Londoner is all ebullience and bonhomie; a traditional comedy MC, in actual fact. That’s not all the time the talent set it is advisable to make an incredible solo present, however Sikisa (her stage title) has a very good stab at it with this fringe debut, which makes use of the shindig conceit to introduce herself, and the issues she cares about, to a receptive crowd.
Lifetime of the Get together begins in lockdown, with our host shuddering to recall her experiences partying on Zoom. She “got here out of the pandemic eager to rejoice life”, and is quickly internet hosting (at another person’s home) an in-person soiree with jerk rooster, rice and peas – and blue cheese for the white individuals. We’re teed as much as anticipate a comedy of manners about visitor etiquette, consuming versus nibbling, and why Tupperware is the important occasion accent. However that’s not fairly what Sikisa delivers, as an alternative utilizing a handful of the company current (the annoying vegan; the needling good friend) to segue into set items on immigration (Bostwick-Barnes additionally works as an immigration lawyer), race and courting.
You may see the joins as Sikisa solders collectively these two reveals: the occasion one, and the extra conventional debut during which she accounts for who she is and the place she has come from. The pugnacious “that is me” speech that closes the present feels tangential to the theme. And sometimes, her effervescence struggles to hide undercooked or slight materials, such because the audience-interactive bit on that hoary standup matter, the Life within the UK take a look at (for individuals looking for residency or naturalisation), or the first-base routine about doing “quantity twos” in different individuals’s homes.
However the present, punctuated with dance breaks, nonetheless entertains. Its finest materials succeeds in combining Sikisa’s front-foot swagger (males, she says, discover her intimidating) with nuance – such because the routine responding to her good friend’s “Oreo” accusation, or the part on her ambivalent relationship along with her mum. Not fairly hostess with the mostest, then, however actually a lot to supply.
At Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh, till 28 August.
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