REVIEW: I was 22 and Stunning, Maia Tassalini, EdFringe 2026 ★★★★

The stage has never been so blessed than with this diva’s confessional. Maia Tassalini is fun, hilarious, and definitely stunning in this debut comedy hour where she confesses her love for Monica Lewinsky, yes the woman Bill Clinton had an affair with in the 90’s, and lets the audience fall in love with her.

This felt very much like your cool aunt telling you her life story. Maia is such a naturally charming and dynamic performer, she owns the stage from the first second to the last. So you had better listen well as she talks about growing up at the kids table at the gay wedding, finding her ‘Lewinsky’ moment, and wanting a big, complicated life.

It felt like a celebration of girlhood, Maia is not timid about her own talent and nor should she be. Kicking off the show with a ‘best dressed’ competition for the audience, and with a set of leopard print and tassels, she is immediately in control and unabashedly herself. She does not condescend to her audience with her material, it is articulate and it is honest. Particularly this desire for a glamorous life, and the disconnect she felt as a child from the skinny, blonde celebrities at the time. It’s a relatable anxiety of not being sexy, or pretty, or small enough to really be seen by the world. Even so, Maia feels that she is destined for bigger things.

We all know the feeling of wanting to have the messy, complicated life. In a nostalgic imagining of the 90’s, Maia gives us context for her obsession with Monica Lewinsky. This was a woman who was solely vilified by the media for an affair in which two people were involved. An odd idol for a young girl to look up to, but Maia casts Monica in a new light, where she is a rockstar who saw her opportunity and went for it, then picked herself up when it all went sideways. You’ll know the feeling yourself, that you really shouldn’t do it but you just might. Maia taps into this, but also the deeply relatable experience of wanting all of this and still spending your early 20’s with no ‘Lewinsky’ moment in sight.

Like all the best divas, Maia is armed with gorgeous hair and an acerbic wit. Her observational punchlines can sneak up on you, and her crowd work is deliciously devastating. There’s a clear intelligence and structure in her writing that is only made more cutting by her excellent delivery. This is a comic who knows how to keep the audience’s attention, and write to beautifully highlight her strengths. The audience get a real sense of her personality, and they clearly loved it. For the whole show, the audience were in stitches and completely enchanted.

It really is a curse to be 22 and stunning, but I’m glad she’s alive to tell us all about it. A new and fabulous talent like Maia Tassalini is a joy to see at the Fringe. She sparkles, she stuns, she clocks us all and she looks fantastic doing it.

Recommended drink: A Tommy’s margarita, because it means business about having a good time.

Catch I was 22 and Stunning at Bunker Three at Pleasance Courtyard from 5-30 August (not 18) at 18.00 (1hr). Tickets are available through the EdFringe Online Box Office.