Despite its title, Zoë Clayton-Kelly’s comedy cabaret One Hundred and Thirty Thousand Squirrels In London has very little to say about squirrels, beyond their pastry-pinching qualities!
A mix of songs and sketches that brings iconic comics Victoria Wood, Joyce Grenfell, Gilda Radner, and Lily Tomlin to mind, but with an original streak, One Hundred and Thirty Thousand Squirrels In London is pure fun.
Clayton-Kelly’s work is observational and offers clever wordplay from the start. She dons green paint to become ‘Fiona from Shrek‘, children’s party entertainer, then scrubs off for a magnesium salt bath bonding experience with her mum.
Regular use of miming to other voices is fun, and the use of an engaging tone and warm personality could win over any audience. The songs are snappy, upbeat, and real, with characters like ‘supply teacher’ and ‘wellness woman’.
Costumes are pulled in from neverending woollen threads (referencing a sketch about a jumper in a pub), and a keyboard offers accompaniment to the songs, while the pace is fast and the jokes piled on.
I love this type of sketch style, professional mania, a sly wink, and a knowing nudge. Clayton-Kelly is a classically trained clown, and it shows in her vocals and physicality.
The sound is sharp in the basement bar of the Aces & Eights, a venue just made for this type of show, with its tables and curiously rickety chairs.
Are you a freelancer, a daughter, a bus passenger, a yogist, or just a woman musing on her inevitable mortality? Then this show is probably the one for you.
It’s fairly flawless. Keep an eye on this performer.
5 stars.
One Hundred and Thirty Thousand Squirrels In London has finished at Camden Fringe but is on at Just The Tonic as part of Edinburgh Fringe 16-18 Sep with tickets here.