Ania Magliano starts her third Fringe show with an extended bit on gossip that shows her confident stage presence. She breezily flips through tones from lightly observational to unexpectedly surreal and dark without verging on gratuitously edgy.
Magliano’s material goes beyond gossip; covering bad haircuts, she creates vivid mental imagery of the salon that utilises the surreal and self-deprecating to great effect, and taking up boxing. The latter subject leads to a great punchline (no pun intended) about fourth wave feminism. She also manages to combine moving accounts of relationships gone wrong with more broadly funny jokes about threesomes. Finally, Magliano gives her story of having breast reduction surgery a surprisingly scatological aftermath.
However, underpinning all of this is a recurring thread of Magliano’s visits to a therapist as the result of a sexual assault she suffered. She skilfully unites this element with the other aspects of her show at the end to prove that comedy can heal. This is done in a quietly powerful, life-affirming conclusion that still retains the humorous tone of the previous hour.
‘I Can’t Believe You’ve Done This’ is a show that works on multiple levels, from the more broadly comic anecdotes that entertain to the more serious personal revelations that provide insight into Magliano without derailing the overall tone. Magliano is a talented comedian with a wit and observational power far beyond her years. Based on this current show, it’ll be exciting to see what she comes up in the future.
‘I Can’t Believe You’ve Done This’ runs until Sun 27 Aug 2023 at Pleasance Courtyard – Baby Grand at 16:35