Sarah Keyworth accomplishes what any comedian wishes for: laughs for her first line and a mix of awe and uncontrollable applause for her exit. Keyworth doesn’t shy away from straightaway addressing the P-word as she opens with the line, ‘We’re the ones who survived.’ This bold opener tells the audience exactly what to expect – truths told via an offbeat perspective.
Over the next hour, we are introduced to a few fascinating characters in Keyworth’s life. She weaves together stories about her therapist, new partner and one of her closest friends, Paul. With a masterful touch of misdirection, she delivers punchlines we don’t see coming. Almost all make us laugh, except one that silences the room in precisely the way she wants. The audience is in her hands. She carefully guides our emotions using her vulnerability and tactful tangents. Her command over misdirection is so successful in fact that I am still unsure whether the delayed entry of the wrestler Keyworth hired to carry her off stage while rock music boomed was all part of the plan or not.
Having been familiar with Keyworth’s work only through podcast form, I wasn’t sure what to expect from her stage work. She is obviously comfortable on stage but with a hint of endearing awkwardness. This, combined with the nature of her material and the intimacy of the venue, allows the audience to relax into almost a conversation with her, making us feel like we’re all pals catching over a drink at the pub. Agreed, there were a couple of fumbles. However, they were understandable as it was only the first day after previews, and Keyworth recovered quickly. Although one such misstep impacted a punchline, she immediately addressed it and elicited a laugh anyway through improvisation.
Lost Boy offers us a glance into Keyworth’s life over the past few years in the pandemic. This deeply personal show of an individual’s experiences achieves what all great stories do – making the personal universal. Catch it for raucous laughs and opportunities for empathetic nods as well as to help set a new life goal: to exit each room by being carried away by a wrestler.