While it in no way reflects the quality of the show, it’s worth mentioning that Sarah Kendall’s Touchdown defies expectations as it unfolds. Her brand new hour of stand-up actually has very little to do with women’s touch football, contrary to any promotional material you may have read. In fact, it’s barely relevant as a backdrop, playing only tiny part in a surprisingly honest affair.
The tale revolves around life in the early ’90s, Kendall somehow befriending the most beautiful and popular girl in school. Touchdown traces the collapse of the chalk-and-cheese pairing, as well as baffling shark-related library books, Jaws 4 and the awkward braced-faced flirtation that tends to define young love. Unfortunately, to go into greater detail would risk compromising the show’s more potent moments. Touchdown is personal and occasionally raw, Kendall clearly reserving some emotion and nostalgia for a testing time in her life.
If you’re worried Touchdown might be entirely devoid of laughs, don’t worry: you can’t go too far wrong with Kendall’s dry wit. She’s a skilled, confident comic, engaging from the outset. However, this is the kind of show that tends to peak before instantly resetting. That’s arguably the side-effect of employing any sort of long-form, storytelling structure within a show: any hilarity inevitably makes way for the tale at hand. Kendall definitely succeeds in extracting funny bits from her flashback, but it’s worth cautioning that some patience may be required. This isn’t an all-out joke-fest, but the trade-off is the story itself and Kendall’s ability to bring it to life.
To reiterate, Touchdown has almost nothing to do with sport, but don’t let that deter you: what you get instead is well-worth checking out, Kendall presenting an hour of immersive comedy. Expect the show to stay with you long after you’ve exited the Town Hall.
BY NICK MASON
