Fans of Susie McCabe hoping to catch her at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe may be disappointed as she is here for just one performance of her latest show, Let’s Get Physical. They won’t, however, be disappointed with her comedy as she shares with the audience her trials and tribulations of trying to get fitter and healthier with her usual brand of self-deprecating humour.
Her mission to health is in part inspired by her family – she wants to be a positive role-model for her young niece and give her important advice such as, “bring your own sweeties if you go to the cinema with Auntie Nicola!” Auntie Nicola you see is fully supportive of her partner and brings home exercise bikes as cheering up gifts and broccoli heads to the cinema for snacks much to McCabe’s horror and bemusement.
And Nicola is not the only person who falls victim to McCabe’s witty repertoire as her late Nana, parents, brother, the local priest, the man in brogues and red shorts she bumped into on arrival in Edinburgh tonight, people who take crisps to the cinema and microwaves also make the cut.
McCabe has an easy-going, friendly stage presence and despite laying into Edinburgh from the offset she has the audience on-side regaling those under thirty-five of a time when biscuits were a treat, crispy pancakes (“horse meat wrapped in breadcrumbs”) were a common dinner stuff and the most people could do on a mobile phone was play snake.
It is an entertaining hour and it seems a shame that she has elected against a Fringe run this year but she did allude to being back in her usual Stand spot in years to come, no doubt with even more jokes about celery sticks and hikes up hills as she hones her new healthier physique.