As Becky Lucas’ show confirms, every tattoo tells a story. Over the course of High Tide, her debut solo show, Lucas conjures images of a failed foam party, explores the perils of performing a ‘cool jump’ to diffuse awkwardness and shines a spotlight upon “Jacinta”, an ever-present character who plagues our lives.
Lucas is a self-confessed “weird kid” and, in brilliant ways, High Tide confirms it, her comedy infused with an abundance of imagination. She’s refreshingly real, with no gimmicks or any contrived stage persona to speak of. Combined with her predilection for spikes of off-colour humour, you definitely get the sense that she’s onto something.
The prevalent issue with High Tide, though, is that the audience keeps on being dragged back to a fairly simplistic narrative. There’s almost always a distinct cool-off period after a killer punchline, Lucas seemingly keen to hit reset on the room and return to the show’s overarching story, rather than capitalize on her momentum. It makes for a jarring transition, too, as the story itself is far from thrilling as a backdrop for an entire show. There’s a sweetness – and, in turn, a hint of redemption – in the way that it ends but, on the whole, the story has too few twists in the tale to make it especially interesting throughout. Is it a story worth telling? Absolutely. As the basis for a full-length show, though, it’s shaky.
As if to strengthen such a notion, Lucas’ show wraps up at around the 45-minute mark, ten minutes shy of the advertised duration. She deserves to be given the benefit of the doubt – after all, this review refers to one specific evening and may not represent her entire run. But, in the case that it does, its clear that Lucas has the ability to bring the duration up. She is clearly an exceptional writer and, when her jokes hit, they hit well.
While High Tide is vulnerable to nitpicking criticism, it is satisfyingly funny. There’s a lot to like about Lucas as she continues building momentum off the back of RAW Comedy in 2013 and The Comedy Zone in 2014. Lucas boasts plenty of promise and it will be interesting to see what she brings to her next festival season.
BY NICK MASON
