Edinburgh 2019: Review: #HONESTAMY, Pleasance

Amy Booth-Steel picked up a ukulele while trying to find a new hobby and started to post performances of candid songs about life on twitter earlier this year.

Fast forward to August and she has crafted a solo show, with direction from Kathy Burke, called #HonestAmy - because she, in her own words, "tells it like it is".

Everything may seem pastel-hued from the poster, including the multiple ukuleles on stage, but this show is certainly not all fluff. Booth-Steel takes the audience on a journey of the last few years of her life. From the shock of a stage 3 cancer diagnosis to the trauma she experienced afterwards. Her witty lyrics capture the reality of putting one's life on hold to treat an illness; our disdain for our own bodies and the juxtaposition of the joy people being there for you in the worst of times.

The set up is a bookshelf in the shape of a letter 'A' with various pink objects - including some photos which we later learn are her family. There is a box with a few percussion objects that she incorporates into her numbers to the audience's delight.

A particular highlight is a number about learning the ukulele strumming technique and how that shaped her outlook on life. Every song is delivered with a twinkle in her eye and the lyrics are full of wit and wisdom.

Burke's direction milks every possible laugh. Combining slick lighting changes with ukulele stabs gives the piece a polished feel, despite Booth-Steel's insistence she has no clue what she's doing.

The audience is very much on her side and the warmth she brings to the room is palpable. Part therapy-part comedy #honestamy is a refreshingly candid look at life at how one can overcome hardship with a little smidge of humour and self-love.

#HonestAmy at Pleasance Dome - 10Dome (Venue 23) until 26 August

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