Abby Wambaugh review: A playful and tender show from a comedian everyone should know
Edinburgh Fringe
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Edinburgh Fringe 〰️
Image: Marie Hald
by Zoe Paskett
“I didn't realise you could do that with comedy!” is what someone said to me after Abby Wambaugh’s show. And I’ll be totally honest with you, I was standing there thinking, I’m not entirely sure how to write about a show like this. But I’m gonna try! Because that’s what this show is all about: trying, failing and the beginning of things.
Abby can do it all, and she does. The First 3 Minutes of 17 Shows is what it says on the tin but it’s so much more (if you ever so slightly stretch your definition of what “three minutes” means). The concept is super and allows Abby to slide between any medium she chooses, from straight stand-up to dramatic storytelling in a beret to mime to musical comedy to puppetry to…the list goes on and on and on, 17 times.
The bones of the show is an introduction to Abby. So far, so traditional: we get to know the games she played in high school, how she had a baby and moved to Denmark, realised she was non-binary, her late miscarriage, found comedy… But every part of that story is carefully presented and original. All at once, it’s a silly, playful show with raucously fun audience participation (shout-out to foley artist of the evening Deirdre for killing it on the basketball) and a soft, tender exploration of the beginning of things.
When the climax of the show arrives, she smiles warmly at the audience as, sniffling, we put all of the disparate puzzle pieces of the last 45 minutes together and realise what we’ve seen.
This show was a totally unexpected delight – I have seen a grand total of about 10 minutes of Abby’s comedy at the Funny Women Awards final in 2021 and have enjoyed her stand-up online so I was looking forward to seeing more, but I can’t emphasise enough the level to which my expectations were transcended.
An outstanding debut hour from a comedian who everyone should know.
Abby Wambaugh: The First 3 Minutes of 17 Shows runs at Pleasance Courtyard (Attic), 7:15pm. Tickets here
