EDINBURGH 2023: Review: LAWRENCE CHANEY – OVERWEIGHT AND OVER IT!, Saint Stephens Stockbridge

Drag Queen of Scots and RuPaul's Drag Race UK winner Lawrence Chaney presents a mix of stand-up and lip syncs in her Fringe debut extravaganza, exploring what it truly means to be 'plus-sized.' Her stand-up delivers, her lip syncs less so.

Donning a fabulous Irn Bru outfit, Chaney does Scotland proud embracing her body through sharp comedic banter. From problematic TV shows to the cost of vegetables to aeroplane seatbelts, Chaney delivers fast-witted comedic remarks shaping a message around public perceptions of being overweight. She cleverly interacts with the audience, showcasing her strong improvisation skills through quick-fire hilarious responses - we gain insight into her life before Drag Race, her family and a Grindr date offerring to "bing bang bong her guts out". I just wish there was more humour like this.

A large portion of the show depicts Chaney lip-syncing. Much of this is accompanied by projected pictures making it slightly more entertaining, however anybody who watches Drag Race knows Lawrence is not a lip-sync queen. Her lip-syncs felt forced, long and imbued with overused fat jokes. As a die-hard Drag Race fan, I was disappointed she wasn't leaning more into the cutting remarks we know she does so well.

Lawrence is the ultimate stand-up comedy queen... if only she would do more stand-up and leave the lip-syncing behind.

Lawrence Chaney - Overweight and OVER IT! is at Saint Stephens Stockbridge until August 27

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