COMEDIENNE Producers Hotel Until 11 Mar 2017 Review by Brian Godfrey The “Comedienne” of this show is stand-up comedienne Sarah Gaul. But there’s a difference: she does indeed stand up, but behind a keyboard; and she doesn’t tell jokes, but sings her self-composed quirky comedy songs. Gaul is deceptive in that she lures you in with her charming smile and friendly welcoming. But when she starts to sing, we see the dark, very humorous side of her. She is a self-confessed white, heterosexual, private schooled feminist. Her songs sometimes show this fact, especially “Cinderella”, where she attempts to have little girls cast off the Disney image that they must be beautiful and marry handsome princes (don’t tell Princess Mary and Kate that): and the lovely “Happy Ending”, the ’11 o’clock song’ from her ‘still being written’ musical, “Killjoy”. All Gaul’s songs tickle our funny bone but there is always an element of our own self-truths in them, even in her ‘boys’ song, “Party Shirt”. Her repertoire ranges from the lovely (“Cheap Red Wine”: a song she wrote for a friend’s wedding) to the hilariously insulting but true (“The Method Actor”: about her days as a Drama student); and let’s not forget her ode to an ex-boyfriend who just could not let go (“AVO”). But wait! Gaul also does Jazz extremely well, even though the number is a parody. “Comedienne” is one of those ‘nicer’ weird Fringe shows where you can just sit back and enjoy yourself without any fear of being picked on. Rating: 3.5 stars (out of 5)