Edinburgh Fringe – Pleasance
Queen of the one-liner, Celya AB wields the craft of comedy incredibly well, really an understatement in its self. With a total of 100 jokes going at a rate of 16p, Of All People is another example of how she has claimed her crown and the versatility of her mastery over the stand-up art form. At 16p a joke, we more than get our money’s worth.
Celya AB has a really quick wit that she fires off in quick succession, providing unexpected twists and turns to her material and drawing connections between things where we might initially think there are none. This happens to the point where we have to assume that before writing this show, she had set herself a challenge to make each subsequent joke better than the last.
“There’s mischief to everything she says, as if Celya AB can’t wait for… us to be in on the joke with her”
There’s a little bit of silliness mixed in with a confidence that informs her delivery and stage presence. There’s mischief to everything she says, as if Celya AB can’t wait for us to get the joke, get the punchline, for us to be in on the joke with her. As if she’s laughing in anticipation of our reaction, and we laugh with her. She knows what it takes to punctuate a joke, to hit the mark, as if making other people laugh is the most natural thing in the world for her. It’s as if she’s found the fundamental philosophy of comedy and uses it in everything she does.
Within the show, Celya AB tackles the issue of generational trauma, and her experience with it, leading to some very vulnerable moments onstage. And she creates these really heavy, pregnant pauses where we sit in it and dwell on it with her, only for her to go and pop the bubble that she herself has created with a light release, reinstating the previous feeling of buoyancy.
Of All People is an unmissable show at this year’s Fringe. It’s Celya AB at her absolute best where the laughter is guaranteed and practically constant.
By Katerina Partolina Schwartz
Photo Credit: Rachel Sherlock
Pepper & Salt 
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