Jake Mace
Skirt-suit clad Sam Nicoresti bounds onto stage with a disarmingly funny witty blend of self-admitted geekiness and outgoing charm. Nicoresti’s eclectic range of references straddle Tolkien to Mark Fisher, trying on that oh-so-fetching strappy dress to parental coming-out trauma, and a dizzying attempt to appeal to the now-cancelled Dave’s Joke of the Fringe. With an equilibrium of fervour and candour, Nicoresti impresses with this succinct yet impressively expansive whiplash-inducing snapshot of Trans bodies, minds, and experiences in 2020s Britain.
At the heart of the piece is Sam’s gender transition – as Sam spears the deed poll name change system, why cis people get so offended when you mis-gender their dogs, and questions why the trans body consistently becomes the centre of attention, especially if you try and inadvertently shoplift in a TK Maxx. The piece lacks any self-pity, instead focused on exploring the comedic tension surrounding society’s stigmas about Trans-ness through Sam’s lens.
Another string in Sam’s bow comes through their journey with mental health and substance use, as they put it “leaving their body and the journey home.” This journey is traced by jarring and sudden moments of tenderness that sees Sam explore rituals. From passing through Standing Stones in Cornwall, to writing down your trauma and burning the paper, these moments of reflection add a suitably emotive tone that frame the humour found elsewhere within something resembling a conducive narrative, not that a stand-up hour needs to have one anyways. But this is done with a light touch, and in Nicoresti’s trademark frenetic fashion.
Nicoresti tells us this is a show about “getting dressed”, yet it is something so much more captivating – as broad and humour-filled as it is deep and rare. Nicoresti’s moments of crowdwork engaging with the audience add a communality to the humour surrounding queer identities. In one moment, Sam engages with us about how weird they find it that people give their dogs human-sounding names, which could have had the potential to divide the room along dog/cat people lines, but instead gathered a great amount of laughs and subtly explored dead-naming in a light-handed manner.
Nicoresti finds levity and joy in the deep and difficult, and yet never leaves us on the outside. Their hunt for the perfect skirt suit unpacks everything from gendered clothing to the fine art of re-establishing your sanity when you find yourself tipping over the edge. It’s an obsequiously tight hour of stand-up fringed by some tender and blissful moments of release. Sharp, fresh, and surprisingly vast, you’ll not want to miss this breakout comedy star’s smash-hit follow-up to their Fringe debut.
Recommended Drink: Whatever you do, don’t drink any of Sam’s bath bong water.
You can catch Sam Nicoresti: Baby Doomer at Bunker Two at Pleasance Courtyard until August 24th (not the 11th) from 17:40 (60mins). Tickets are available through the EdFringe Online Box Office.
Lamesha Ruddock
Jasmine Silk
