Katharine Ferns – Conscious Incompetent

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, Edinburgh, until Sun 30 Aug 2015  @ 18:15

Katharine Ferns is a conscious incompetent, or in her words, ‘a self aware idiot’. Her funny content, which runs at a great pace, and her bright-eyed, sarcastic manner, is fun to watch. Life lessons abound as Katharine, a Canadian comedian with no return flight, shares her life failures and her path to becoming the person she wants to be, for instance a full time feminist—not just when it’s convenient. Observant and witty, she is a modern, 21st century woman, who throws herself into life and consequently her jokes.

An awkward, ‘I know, I can’t believe it either’ smile, is permanently fixed to Katharine’s face, as she tries to come to terms with the dark truths of her life. Undertones of sad and perhaps troubled times, make this stand up slightly dark at times. But there is no doubt it is still comedy.

Feminism, domestic violence and mental health—Katharine tackles these meaty subjects using surprisingly accurate observations. Bad relationships, bad sex and bad decisions all round. But the jokes are good, insightful and funny. We are laughing because she is right, and nervously smiling at her tendency to hit self destruct in preference to being alone, not feeling alive and receiving the wrath of her mum. She jokes about the perils of society, a society that stigmatises mental health and makes screwed up decisions, such as consciously giving loans to poor students destined to earn little in their chosen discipline.

Self deprecating and aware, Katharine successfully makes the audience laugh with her and her conscious incompetency.