Fringe favourite and critical darling Kiri Pritchard-McLean comes back to Edinburgh with a show about the forces that drove her to leave and then return to her native Wales. Pritchard-McLean wears her Welshness proudly (in this case through a sequinned leotard emblazoned with the national flag) despite being bullied for somehow being ‘too Welsh’ or ‘not Welsh enough’. The hour is a love letter to her home, the island of Anglesey, while recognising the colonial abuse that lies at the heart of its history.
Pritchard-McLean’s comedy has always excelled when she’s incorporated difficult, uncomfortable subjects into her routines such as sexism, child grooming, adoption, and emotional abuse. Home Truths is less about a ‘cause’ and more about the comedian embracing her roots and learning the Welsh language in lock down, with some social commentary thrown in for good measure. We learn about some of the local ‘characters’, including the comedian’s own father, who still has some outdated views on race. She has an intensely engaging presence, with her years on the circuit as an MC meaning she knows exactly how to work a crowd. She’s happy to make you howl with laughter, make you think, and make you question your own place in the world.
Home Truths is a show bursting with laughs and full of heart, but which may also make you shift uncomfortably in your seat at times. For the largely white audience are forced to admit we have all benefited from the privilege the colour of our skin has afforded us. The show is educational without being boring, and strikes a point home without feeling like you’re being preached to. A thoroughly entertaining hour, with some good old fashioned smut thrown in for good measure.