★★★★½
Musical comedian Kayleigh Jones is making her debut at the Edinburgh Fringe this year, with ‘I Fed My Dad to a Pelican’. It is a solo stand up show inspired by the unbelievable true story of what happened when she found out that the man who she thought was her father actually wasn’t, balancing relatable comedy, storytelling and original songs. It is the sort of comedy show that will appeal to theatre fans too, thanks to the outrageous content, with the self-confessed “private person” (sarcasm) taking audiences on a journey through a period of her life.
Engaging storytelling
It goes without saying that Kayleigh doesn’t hold back in her storytelling, sharing so many amusing anecdotes from her childhood and career so far, that help build context for the main event: the pelican story. The audience learns that Kayleigh’s mother was quite the character, and when her siblings poked fun at her having a different nose to everyone else in the family, her mother dropped the bombshell that she had all along suspected that her father wasn’t who she led Kayleigh to believe. I don’t want to give away the narrative, as it is best watched in person, but the hour of comedy goes so quickly, holding audiences on the edge of their seats until the big reveal at the end.
Female-focused and daring
Kayleigh’s comedy style is quite feminist, specifically surrounding the original songs which cover female casting calls in your thirties, periods and ‘Mr Independent’ (a gender flipped version of Ne-Yo’s track). That being said, she definitely doesn’t forget the men in attendance, making jokes about how sometimes she is greeted by silence when she asks them to get involved.
An unbelievably fun hour of comedy
With so many shows in the comedy genre at the festival, I urge audiences to go and watch Kayleigh’s show. The story really is as intriguing as the title and it will appeal to people who don’t typically gravitate towards stand up, thanks to it being a multi-genre piece. If I were to make one comment, it would be that the ending is slightly cheesy, but I did appreciate the ‘what have I got to lose’ attitude that Kayleigh showed towards this sequence. You can catch ’Kayleigh Jones: I Fed My Dad to a Pelican’ at the Blether venue in Gilded Balloon Patter House until 25th August (not 12th), with performances starting daily at 19:00. Tickets can be purchased via the festival’s website.
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