Freddie Haberfellner
A mannequin wearing a suit jacket, a microphone jacket and a bowl with some water in it. Nicoresti enters the stage, puts on the jacket – completing the perfect skirt suit look – and we’re off on a wild ride across TK Maxx debacles, transition struggles and autism hyper fixations.
The comedy is fast-paced and precise yet never feels rehearsed and Nicoresti manages to weave together the personal and political without becoming preachy or self-indulgent. In fact, it is often after the laugh that you realise what they just said was funny in its delivery but serious, moving, perhaps even devastating in its content. It is in this that the brilliance of Baby Doomer lies; the majority cis audience no doubt will learn a thing or two about the trans experience but will most likely do so without even realising. No part of this show feels like a TedTalk or an info session; it’s relentlessly entertaining and Nicoresti never once portrays themselves as the victim.
It was incredibly refreshing to hear her talk about how she doesn’t yet know how to be a woman, that she is just a girl. Too often, trans people are expected, even required to have all the answers, to essentially have a PhD in gender in order to even have a chance of being seen as valid. But the truth, of course, is that even when transitioning is what you’ve always wanted and needed it is not a simple or straightforward process. Navigating the changes yourself on top of dealing with people around you reacting to said change can be a sticky, awkward and even painful experience.
Baby Doomer highlights many of these trickier situations that can come with transition. An absolute stand-out is a detailed story about Nicoresti trying on a dress at TK Maxx during Pride. She manages to call out the pinkwashing many big corporations are guilty of, as well as the lack of understanding and compassion trans people often have to deal with when accessing gendered spaces such as changing rooms, all whilst having the audience in stitches with this rollercoaster of a story.
The only part of the show that didn’t seem to fully land and might need some workshopping is a section about Lord of the Rings, Gollum being trans and Nicoresti being autistic. She did acknowledge herself that this is the ‘toughest’ section of the show, however her imitation of Gollum’s voice – and callbacks to this later in the show – were utterly hilarious. A few tweaks to the rest of the segment could bring it to the same level of brilliance as the rest of the show.
Baby Doomer feels like a vital show in the current climate in that its activism is subtle and yet unapologetic, and Sam Nicoresti is as charming as they are quick-witted, standing up for their community whilst providing non-stop entertainment.
Recommended Drink: Methinks a pint of lager (this man knows nothing about beer, apologies) would look good with a skirt suit.
You can catch Sam Nicoresti: Baby Doomer at Forth @ Underbelly, Cowgate from August 15-19 (not 16) at 19:00 (60mins). Tickets are available through the EdFringe Online Box Office.
Vasthy Mompoint
Isobel Jacob
Roe McDonnell
