REVIEW: Lauren Pattison at Newcastle Alphabetti

Lauren Pattison - Lady Muck

Newcastle Alphabetti Theatre

Thursday 23^rd November 2017

Photo: Andy Hollingworth

Lauren Pattison’s funny tales of life living as a young North Eastern comic living in London performed to sold out crowds at the Edinburgh Fringe this summer. She paid a visit to Newcastle’s fringe venue to show why she was nominated as the Best Newcomer.

Lauren graduated with a first class bachelors degree and a masters degree and wanted to make it as a female stand up comic. Recognising that opportunities for success were limited in her native Newcastle she decided to up sticks and head to London. Sure, she was going to pay far more rent for a much smaller room and have to share the house with total strangers, but that was worth leaving behind a long term boyfriend. After all, long term relationships can work, cant they?

Her set looks at the sacrifices needed to make a successful career in entertainment work. This includes the other work that one has to do to pay the bills, living away from the natural support network and being in a middle class world full of southerners with different values. Lauren mixes sharp wit with great observational skills. This isn’t an hour with a female Peter Kay though. Rather than generalities, the audience are taken through a very personal journey and it is that genuine emotional attachment that sets Lauren apart from a number of her peers. She isn’t trying to be funny, she is funny.

Photo: Andy Hollingworth

Lauren has a fast style of delivery and she covers a lot in the hour. In her amazing sparkling boots (I want a pair!) she isn’t afraid to swear but she doesn’t, in my mind, get offensive. Certainly she is no more offensive than virtually any other comic.  She is a champion of both her northern and working class roots. She doesn’t apologise for what she has been through or where she has come from. And why should she? There are poignant moments to her story too. The pressure on image that young people are put through in an age of easy access social media is stark.   

This was a homecoming gig and a number of people in the room knew her - including a number of her old school teachers. You can see why they talk so highly of her and why they want to continue to support her as she launches into her career. Let’s make no mistake, Lauren has what it takes to make regular appearances on tv.

The sold out crowd at Alphabetti continued to applaud long after the house lights came back on. We had witnessed the start of a very promising, and hopefully long, career in comedy.

Review by Stephen Oliver

Tickets:

Lady Muck returns for one final Newcastle date at The Stand Comedy Club on Sunday 28^th January 2018. Support comes from Ross Smith. Details can be found here: http://www.thestand.co.uk/show/29560/lauren_pattison_lady_muck