"Bitter? Yes, quite a lot. A bit undignified? Maybe a little. Hilariously funny? Yes, riotously so" Magnus Huntly-Grant reviews Shappi Khorsandi's post-divorce Edinburgh show.
All that Shappi Khorsandi ever wanted was the moon on a stick. Although that’s not strictly true her show does discusse the fact that while she was growing up she wanted the full domestic/career package. And it appears that she has made some headway towards her dreams. Well, except for the divorce that is.
It is hard to know what to make off someone who is using personal issues which are obviously still quite tender for comedy. Part of me worries for them but part of me also relishes the more acerbic insights which can only arise from this kind of scenario. Bitter? Yes, quite a lot. A bit undignified? Maybe a little. Hilariously funny? Yes, riotously so. Despite this I have to confess to feeling a little sorry for her ex and even though she never really makes overly personal digs at him she does allude to the fact that his own comedy career isn’t going swimmingly.
I was pleased when Khorsandi mentioned that she wouldn’t be concentrating on the differences between Iranian and British people. I would have been amazed if there were any of those gags left after the combined joke telling hours her and Omid Djalilli (they apparently get mistaken for wach other in the street) must have clocked up. To her credit Khorsandi alludes to this but still struggles to get away from the whole cross-culture theme. Naturally a person can only create personal material from what they know, but it can begin to become one amorphous and really rather tired joke.
Shappi is the consummate professional in her field: completely at ease on stage, quick witted but comfortable with audience banter (although, at one point she does bring someone out of the audience to be paraded on stage for her prettiness) and a natural flow of ideas, loosely tied to the whole theme. Altogether she seems more involved than in past years and I suspect that there is a deal of catharsis to thank for that.
While she may not have attained everything she always wanted - it seems that a second child is firmly on the wish list - Khorsandi appears content and there is something heart-warming, even charming about her show which gives her brilliant comic insights an added depth.
Shappi Khorsandi: Moon on a Stick is at the Pleasance Courtyard until the 30th August at 7:50pm
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