Amy Gledhill, one half of the Edinburgh Comedy Award nominees The Delightful Sausage presents what could be one the funniest hours of stand-up you’ll witness at this year’s Fringe with The Girl Before The Girl You Marry.
Gledhill takes us on a journey through her previous romances, where she unwittingly became a ‘human property developer’ getting men fixed up and ready for marriage, but not with her. Being ‘the one before the one’ is a familiar concept to some women with the audience howling in laughter as well as recognition at parts of the story. Gledhill teases the juiciest story for the end and by the time we get there, it’s thoroughly worth it. It involves a New Year’s countdown but this is no When Harry Met Sally… moment, it’s a slowly unfolding car crash with the crowd gasping then erupting into fits of laughter.
In the lead up to the worst case of men swiftly moving onto an engagement, we learn about accidentally offending a monarch, having a rock as a pet, taking up ballroom dancing as a kid and playing to audiences full of bald men (like looking inside an egg carton) who like to shout, ‘TITS!’ at her. Every single joke lands and within a minute the audience is in the palm of her hands and roaring at every punchline. There’s no lull or let up and the comedian’s effervescent energy is contagious.
This is Gledhill’s first solo hour but it doesn’t show. She’s a masterful performer who is great at weaving a story and ad-libbing when bantering with the audience. This isn’t a ‘woe is me’ tale, but an absolute triumph. As much as the pain of being the ‘one before the one’ stung, it’s a testament to Gledhill’s comic skills that she can make it so relentlessly funny. An absolute must watch.