Note: This review is from the 2017 Fringe

Shetlander Marjolein Robertson uses her roots to weave her way through the difficult paths of politics, family and trying to find love on a small island. Robertson seems like the kind of person who you could have a great night out with as she tells amusing tales of insurance policy men, her sexual exploits and why Tinder just doesn’t work on Shetland. Anyone who has grown up in a small community will relate to some of the troubles she has as she tries to find a relationship and she has come up with an innovative way to ensure she one day gets married (although the prospective men might not know it)!

She has a packed room as part of PBH’s Free Fringe, perhaps due to her amiable working of the bar downstairs before the show or perhaps due to being familiar to anyone who has seen her on BBC The Social, a vlogging platform which gives young creative talent an opportunity to reach wider audiences thanks to sharing on all the popular social media sites.

Islanders are historically known to be great storytellers and with her softly spoken Shetland dialect Robertson can certainly hold the audience’s attention while she spins her various tales. What perhaps doesn’t fit with this lilting accent are the detailed references to her intimate body parts which at times seem out of place with her biographical and observational comedy.

Robertson recently returned from a six-month stint in New Zealand where she took part in a number of Fringe performances and conducted some research into this summer’s show (i.e. using Tinder on a larger landmass than Shetland) and she shows a great deal of comedic potential for the future. Her humour is quite niche and she often strays into a lingo presumably only known by those under thirty but with continued “research” Marjolein Robertson could be set to become a Fringe regular.