28 June

Having spent too long as a passive consumer of sex, Katie Arnstein is on a mission: ditch the boyfriends, go for lovers and stay in control; no emotional mess, good sex and plenty of it. That was the plan in 2013. It sounds like a pitch for season 1 of a sitcom. In style the show is somewhere between a standup routine and a salutary fireside chat with a younger sister. Be warned young lady, this is what is out there waiting for the unwary. Then again we could be eavesdropping on a psychiatrist’s confessional.

Speaking almost entirely in metaphor and simile there is hardly a limp sentence in the whole hour. A bus is not just a bus, it’s “Train’s slower, stupid brother”. I’d draw a difference between a monologue delivered with pace on the one hand, and speed on the other, and put her performance firmly in the former. Consequently there isn’t a redundant second in the show, which is richly laced with anecdote and autobiographical detail. “If you’ve had sex with me, you might be in the show”, she quips by way of introduction.

Ticking off lovers by the month almost inevitably there is the jolt of something a little darker, reminding us that consent can never be assumed. Yet that is a short diversion in a routine which is delivered, not merely with a smile, but beaming as if she’s really pleased we’ve come to spend some time together.

Acute observation and telling detail are the hallmarks of comic storytelling and all the intimate details attendant on a good outcome for a sex sleuth – getting fitted for a bra and having a waxing down below – are vividly and wincingly described.

Being a good mimic is an asset to a storyteller and Ms Arnstein can change, chameleon like, into, say, an old school friend without missing a beat, wrinkling her nose and fidgeting with imaginary glasses to give us gawky Neil. Then just as impressively she can act with herself, playing out a little scene as both Neil and Katie.

Her ability to pick up a ukulele and do a little comic song or musical recap will inevitably draw comparison with Victoria Wood. It’s a fair comparison, but can only be taken so far. Ms Arnstein has a political edge; the title of the show is an alternate to the phrase, ‘glass ceiling’ and along with Sexy Lamp and Bicycles and Fish is part of a trilogy that deals with issues affecting women today. All of which makes her not merely an entertainer, but a ‘voice’. We look forward to seeing where she goes next.

★★★★☆  Graham Wyles, 29 June 2023

Photo credit: Harrison Bates