If you somehow managed to lock yourself in your own basement for years on end, you would probably start talking to inanimate objects too. Even if you are feeling ragged though, it would still be a surprise if one of them started talking back to you. That’s the idea behind The Basement Entertainer, an evident project of passion from Katelyn Berrios. It is a show that posits this scenario as a personally affecting hypothetical, rather than something designed to be taken at face value, and as such it can feel lacking in detail. But it features an admirable, entertaining variety of sketches that showcase someone longing for a life of significance but who is unable to pursue it. 

Berrios possesses a charm and wit that is able to warm even the steeliest of hearts, and by the end manages to reach out with a touching affirmation about always trying to achieve your best. It takes some time to get there, and throughout the first half often feels frustratingly lacking in direction. But eventually the point of it all becomes much clearer. Berrios doesn’t need to work overly hard to win the crowd over; they come to appreciate her for who she is, and it makes The Basement Entertainer a very easy show to throw your support behind. 

The comedy is happily more Stanley Cup and less disposable polystyrene shot glass, with most of the gags landing even when they border on deliberate repetition. Any potential flounders or mishaps are laughed off and worked around with slick professionalism, and the writing never shies away from the inherent absurdity of the situation. The full extent of Berrios’ loneliness isn’t explored (it seems unlikely that in a real situation like this nobody would have come looking for her), but poking holes risks missing the point of what is a more abstract slice of comedy than it first appears. 

Sublimely performed and a regular bundle of laughs, The Basement Entertainer finds Berrios in fine fettle as she taps into the hibernating ambitions of performers the world over, which at the Fringe in particular feels very suitable. There’s no better time to share a message that the world needs to hear than when the world arrives on your doorstep. Except the trophy and the volleyball may need to make way if everyone is to fit inside her basement.

The Basement Entertainer has finished its run