EDINBURGH 2023: Review: FREYA PARKER: IT AIN'T EASY BEING CHEEKY, Pleasance Courtyard
Freya Parker's show of "cheeky" humour fails to remain engaging for as long as an hour.
What makes a cheeky guy? Well, Freya Parker is the one to tell ya. If you are in doubt, sitting wondering "am I a cheeky guy? Is being a cheeky guy a good thing?" then fear not. Parker eases you into it, gauging the audience's knowledge of the cheeky little guy that she claims to represent. The question remains, however, how funny can a cheeky guy be, and can it keep the audiences laughing for a whole hour?
The thing is, when it comes to this style of comedy we all know someone - or maybe multiple people - who embody that cheeky wee sense of humour. It can be found in schools, work places, universities, anywhere you look really. With such a universally accepted style that often succeeds in getting laughs, it seems like a sure fire thing that Freya Parker's It Ain't Easy Being Cheeky would also succeed as an hour of stand-up.
Unfortunately, this could not be farther from the truth. Throughout the show Freya refers to the audience - a group of cheeky guys - as a chuckle. The unfortunate irony to this bit is that is sums up much of the reaction to Parker's routine. A chuckle here and there is fine but for an hour? It leaves a lot to be desired.
This is further emphasised within the structure of the hour. Throughout the hour there seems to be very little holding all of the material together other than it being a little bit cheeky. A while into the show Parker does guide us through a narrative involving the death of her father and the way in which it impacted her view on the world. This section of the show is most certainly the most appealing in that Parker finds the perfect balance between sincere, relatable and funny. The issue comes in that it feels too little too late.
Though she does seem to find her stride as the show comes nearer the end, there appears to be no climax to her hour. No big build up to a joke or major point being made, just another chuckle-worthy joke and then a "goodnight!"
Of course, given her reputation as one half of comedy duo Lazy Susan, Freya Parker's latest hour of stand up may very well find an audience that is more atune to her comedy sensibilities. Furthermore, the show and humour itself may very well be exactly what some audience members want. With this in mind it would be unfair to advise whether or not Parker's show is worth seeing, though for this reviewer the hour of comedy never achieved much more than a chuckle.
Freya Parker: It Ain't Easy Being Cheeky is at the Pleasance Courtyard until 27 August.
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